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DTJ OHAILLU AND KING QUBNGUEZA. 



THE 



COUNTEY OF THE DWARFS. 



PAUL DU CHAILLIT, 



AUTHOR OF 

'Adventitbes and ExploratiotnS in 

Equatorial Afeica," ''A Jofeney 

TO AsHANGO Land," "Stoeies of 

the Gorilla Country, " * ' Wild 

Life under the Equator," 

*'My AriNGi Kingdom." 




NUMEROUS ENGRA VINGS. 




' NEW YORK: 

HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 

FRANKLIN SQUARE. 



187: 



51 






%'\ 



By PAUL DU CHAILLU. 



THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. Illustrated. i2mo, Cloth, 

$1 75- 
MY APINGI KINGDOM. Illustrated. i2mo, Cloth, $i 75. 
LOST IN. THE JUNGLE. Illustrated. i2mo, Cloth, $1 75. 
WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. Illustrated. i2mo, Cloth, 

»i 75- 

STORIES OF THE GORILLA COUNTRY. Illustrated. i2mo, 

Cloth, $1 75. 

EXPLORATIONS AND ADVENTURES IN EQUATORIAL 
AFRICA. Illustrated. New Edition. 8vo, Cloth, $5 00. 

A JOURNEY TO ASHANGO LAND, and Further Penetration into 
Equatorial Africa. New Edition. Illustrated. 8vo, Cloth, $5 00. 



Published by HARPER 6- BROTHERS, New York. 

Sent hy mailj postage prepaid, to any part of the United States^ on receipt of 
the price. 



By TraBafei 
JUN fi 1^/ 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by 

Harper & Brothers, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



TO 

FLETCHER HARPER, Esq. 

Dear Sir : — / dedicate this volume to you, not 
only as an acknowledgment of many kindnesses which I have 
received from you during the years in which you have been 
the publisher of my books, but also as a token of the personal 
affection and esteem of 

Your friend, 

Paul B. Du Chaillu. 
North Cape^ Norway, August , 1 871. 



<* _ 

\ " ■ 

CHAPTER I. 

How Paul set out for the Country of the Dwarfs, and what he took 
with him Page 11 

CHAPTER 11. 

On the African Coast. — Meeting with old Friends. — Changes in Four 
Years. — The Captain's Misgivings 20 

CHAPTER III. 

Landing Groodjs. — Among the Breakers. — King Ranpano. — Loss of 
InstrumeW. — King Quengueza. — A Palaver. — Changing Names.. 31 

CHAPTER IV. 

Honest Africans. — Distributing Presents. — Quengueza's Diplomacy. 
— Another Palaver. — A new Settlement'. — Rabolo's Monda. — Ran- 
pano's Superstition , 41 

CHAPTER V. 

Departure of the Mentor. — Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Chimpanzee.— 
Thomas in London.— Left alone in Africa. — Departure from Pla- 
teau.— A Tornado.— Nengue Shika.— Traces of Gorillas.— Nengue 
Ncoma. — King Olenga-Yombi. — The Ipi 52 

CHAPTER VI. 

Hunting for the Ipi.— Camping out in the Woods.— Capture of an Ipi. 
•-^Description of the Animal. — A new species of Ant-eater 64 

CHAPTER VII. 
Life at Nl^ongon-Boumba. —Gorillas and Plantains. — Odanga scared 
by a Gorilla.— A captive Gorilla.— Superstitions respecting the Leop- . 
ard c 72 



vi CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Wounded Gorilla and her young ones. — Taking their Photographs. 
— Tom and Minnie. — Arrival of my Vessel. — Hurra for Baring 
Brothers. — A smoking Ship. — King Quengueza goes on board. — 
Preparations for Journey^ Page 80 

CHAPTER IX. 

Down the River in a Canoe. — A strange Passenger. — Talk with a 
Gorilla. — Landing through the Breakers. — Preparing to cross the 
Continent. — The Departure 91 

CHAPTER X. 
A royal Welcome.— Departure from Goumbi. — The Story of Nchanga 
and En^mo. — Ascending the Ovenga River. — A hostile Barrier re- 
moved. — The Advice of Quengueza 105 

CHAPTER XI. 

Bustle in the Camp.— A magic Horn. — Quengueza's Idol. — A living 
Skeleton. — Terrific Thunder-storm. — A Gorilla Family. — Stupen- 
dous Cataract Ill 

CHAPTER XII. 
The Death of Remandji. — A singular Superstition. — Outbreak of the 
Plague. — A touching Incident. — Dying off by Scores. — Death of 
Olenda 112 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Burial of Olenda. — A desolated Valley. — Suspicions aroused. — Rob- 
bery. — Paul in perplexing circumstances. — Freeing a Man from 
the Stocks. — Ravages of the Plague 131 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Departure from Ashira Land.— A silent Leave-taking.— Thievish 
Porters. — A cunning old Rascal. — Misfortune on Misfortune. — 
Without Food in the Forest. —A desperate Plot. —Feasting on 
Monkey-meat. — Out of the Woods 139 

CHAPTER XV. 

In the open Country at last. — Interview with Mayolo. — Igala falls 
gick. — A Mutiny. — The Otando Prairie on Fire. — Return of Ma- 
condai and Igalo. — Their Adventures. — All together again 153 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Terrible Stonns of Thunder.— Days of Anxiety.— Shooting an An- 



CONTENTS, yii 

telope. — Brighter Prospects. — Mayolo has a hard time with his 
Doctors. — Basket-making Page 165 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Departure from the Otando Country. — Talk with Mayolo. — Living 
on Monkey-meat. — Astronomical Studies. — Lunar Observations. 
Intense Heat 1 73 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Saying Good-by. — A panic-stricken Village. — Pacifying the People's 
Pears. — A tipsy Scene. — Majesty on a Spree. — Lunch by a River 
side. 184 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Rumors of War. — Through a burning Prairie. — Imminent Peril. — 
Narrow Escape from a horrible Death. — A lonely Night-watch 194 

CHAPTER XX. 

A Deputation from the Village. — A plain Talk with them. — A beau- 
tiful and prosperous Town. — Cheerful Character of the People. — 
More Observations 199 

, CHAPTER XXI. 

Great Excit^inent in the Village. — A deserted Town. — The Inhabit- 
ants frightened away. — Afraid of the Evil Eye. — The Author taken 
for an Astrologer. — Lost among the Plantations.. . 206 

CHAPTER XXIL 

First Sight of a Village of the Dwarfs. — A strange and interesting 
Spectacle, — An abandoned Town. — A Reverie beside a Stream. — 
The Leaf, the Butterfly, and the Bird.— The blessing of Water. ... 214 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Grotesque Head-dresses. — Curious fashions in Teeth. — A venerable 
Granite Boulder. — Interior of a Hut. — A warlike race of Savages. 
— Giving them an Electric Shock 226 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
Visit to a Village of the Dwarfs. — Walk through the Primeval For- 
est. — An ancient Account of this strange Race. — A great Ashango 
Dance. — A Watch and a tremendous Sneeze. — First View of the 
Dwarfs. — Queer specimens of Humanity 239 

CHAPTER XXV. 

Making friends with the Dwarfs. — A Surprise Visit. — A gorgeous 

A2 



viii CONTENTS. 

Feast. —Ridiculous Show of Babies. —The Dwarf Language. —A 
Dwarf Dance.— The old Fable of the Cranes and the Pigmies. Page 252 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
A modern Traveler's Account of the Dwarfs and their Habits. ■— 
Where and how they Bury their Dead.— Hunting for the Dwarfs. 
— How they make their Huts 265 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

Traveling Eastward. —Measuring Heights. —Instruments used. — 
Reach Mouaou-Kombo.— Apprehensions of the People. —Palaver 
with the Chief.— An unlucky Shot.— Hostihties commenced 274 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Retreat from Mouaou-Kombo.— The Attack.— Paul is wounded.— 
A Panic— The Fight renewed.— The Enemy re-enforced.— Lying 
in Ambush.— The Enemy repulsed.— A poisoned Arrow.— Mouit- 
chi safe.— Death of the Dogs 286 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

Traveling Westward.— A Night in the Forest.— Paul's Speech to his 
Men.— Their Reply. —The Retreat resumed. —Taking Food and 
Rest. — Meeting with Friends .... 301 

CHAPTER XXX. 

Conclusion. —Return to the Coast. — Desolation of the Country. — 
Fate of old Friends. —Reach the Settlement. —Departure for En- 
gland. — Au Revoir 3j2 




ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 



Du Chaillu and King Quengueza Frontispiece. 

Sketch Map op part of Western Africa Title-page, 

Du Chaillu meets his old Friend Adjouatonga 22 

Capture of the Ipi 67 

Photographing Gorillas 83 

The Departure 101 

Surprising a Family of Gorillas 117 

Olenda is de^d 129 

Prisoner iitI^chogo 136 

Decisive Measures 146 

Meeting with Macondai 159 

Hunting an Antelope 167 

Otaitai, or Porter's Basket 171 

Taking an Observation 180 

Apono and Ishogo Village 208 

IsHOGO Houses, with Ornamental Doors 211 

Huts of the Dwarfs. 216 

Ishogo Head-dresses 227, 228 

African Goat, Chicken, Parrot, and Idol 231 

Shocking the Ashangos 236 

Dinner with the Dwarfs 271 

Instruments for Observation. 275 

The Fight with the Ashangos 289 

Friends in the Darkness 309 







CHAPTEE I. 



AND WHAT HE TOOK WITH HIM. 

In the month of July, 1863, if you had been in Lon- 
don, you_might have seen in St. Catharine's Dock a 
schooner called the Mentor, a little vessel of less than 
one hundred tons' measurement, and if you had gone on 
board you would have encountered your old friend Paul 
Du Chaillu busily superintending the taking of the car- 
go, and getting all things in readiness for the voyage 
upon which he is now going to take you. 

Captain Yardon, the commander of the vessel, was 
generally by his side, and I am sure you would have 
been happy to make his acquaintance, for he was a very 
pleasant man. 

Every body was busy on board, either on deck or be- 
low deck, storing away the goods. Boxes upon boxes 
came alongside the Mentor from morning till evening. 
These contained my outfit and the equipment necessary 
for the expedition. 



12 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS, 

Paul Du Chaillu had an anxious look, and you need 
not wonder at it, for he was about to undertake a jour- 
ney of explorations of about five years' duration, and had 
to think of many things. It was, indeed, no small un- 
dertaking. What an outfit it was ! I will give you some 
idea of it. 

Clothing for five years was to be provided ; the very 
smallest article must not be forgotten, even to needles, 
thread, and scissors. 

It would never do again to be left without shoes, as I 
was in Apingi Land, so I had seventy-two pairs of Bal- 
moral lace-boots made specially for journeying in the 
great forest, with soles flexible enough to allow me to 
bend my feet while jumping from rock to rock, or from 
the base of one tree to another. Besides these lace-boots 
I had twenty-four pairs of shoes and twelve pairs of lin- 
en slippers. Twelve pairs of leggins were to protect 
my legs from thorns, briers, and the bite of snakes ; so 
you see my feet and legs were to be well taken care of 
in that journey, and for my further comfort I laid in 
twelve dozen pairs of socks. I took so many because I 
dp not know how to darn socks, and when a pair became 
full of holes they would have to be thrown away. 

All my shirts were made of light-colored flannel ; these 
were more healthy than linen shirts, and, besides econo- 
mizing soap, it saved me from the necessity of getting 
under-garments, and consequently allotted me space 
which could be devoted to other articles. 

With an eye to the great wear and tear of pantaloons, 
I had ordered six dozen pairs made of the strongest 
twisted blue drill that could be got. Instead of coats I 
ordered two dozen blouses, made of durable linen stuff, 



THE MEDICINE- CHEST. 1 3 

of a color not easily seen in the woods. The blouse was 
a very convenient garment, admitting of num.erous pock- 
ets, in which I could keep many things while on the 
march. Every thing was made for wear and not for show, 
and to go through the thickest and most thorny jungle. 

Several dozeu pocket-handkerchiefs completed my 
wearing outfit. Besides their ordinary use, these were 
to be worn, generally wet, inside the three fine soft Pan- 
ama hats I had provided to protect my head from the 
rays of a burning sun. No collars, no neck-ties were 
necessary. 

Clothes must be washed, so I took with me one hun- 
dred pounds of the hardest Marseilles soap. That quan- 
tity was not much, but then I w^ould probably be able 
some time to make my own soap with palm-oil. 
- Then came the drugs, and these gave Ine mSre embar- 
rassment th^n any thing else. If it had been only to 
take medicines for myself, the matter would have been 
simple enough. A compact little medicine-chest, with 
an extra quantity of quinine, laudanum, and a few other 
remedies used in tropical climates more frequently than 
in ours, would have sufficed ; but I had to think of my 
followers and porters— a retinue that would sometimes 
number five and six hundred— and accordingly I pur- 
chased 

75 ounce bottles of quinine. 

10 gallons of castor-oil. 

50 pounds of Epsom salts. 
2 quarts of laudanum. 

These were the medicines which would be the most 
needed ; but, besides these, I had pretty nearly all the 
drugs to be found at the apothecary's. 



14 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWAMFS. 

Of arsenic I took one hundred pounds, to preserve the 
skins of animals and birds I expected to kill in my jour- 
neyings. 

Most of these and my wearing apparel wef>^ packed in 
japanned tin boxes, which would be serviceable after- 
ward for the preservation of my butterflies and stuffed 
birds. Tin boxes were safer than wooden ones; the 
white ants would not be able to pierce through theni. ' 

Though I did not set out to make war, I felt that I 
ought to be prepared for any emergency. Besides, I was 
to hunt, and I must have guns. After a great deal of 
thinking it over, I came to the conclusion that, for such 
a wild country, where I might get short of cartridges, 
the greater part of my guns should be muzzle-loaders, 
so I bought four splendid English muzzle-loaders, four 
long mu2Sle-loading rifles, two very short smooth-bore 
muzzle-loaders, and two very short muzzle-loading rifles. 

Then I took a magnificent double-barrel breech-load- 
ing rifle which could throw steel-pointed bullets weigh- 
ing more than two ounces. I had Dean and Adams's 
revolvers, magniflcent arms that never got out of order, 
and several long, formidable hunting-knives. 

These guns were for my own special use, and they 
were supplied with moulds for making bullets, etc., etq. 

Besides these, I had ordered in Birmingham two hun- 
dred and flfty cheap guns for my body-guard and the 
native king, to whom I might desire to give one. Most 
of them were flint-locks, and of the pattern called the 
Tower. 

I had great trouble in knowing what quantity of am- 
munition to take, for lead is heavy ; but, then, what would 
a man do in a savage country without powder and bullets? 



SCIENTIFIC INSTHUMENTS. 15 

* • 

The great difficulty with rifle muzzle-loaders is, that* 
when the charge has been driven home the bullets can 
not be easily withdrawn. So it. is with' the revolvers ; 
and a great deal of ammunition would be lost on that 
account. 

My ammunition consisted of 15,000 cartridges for my 
revolvers, in soldered tin boxes of fifties ; 15,000 bullets 
for my guns and rifles, and lead for 20,000 more, for the 
practice of my men before starting into the desert ; 1000 
pounds of small shot of different sizes, for birds ; 400 
pounds of fine powder; 50,000 caps. I also took 200 
10-pound barrels ©f coarse powder for my body-guard 
and to give away to my friends, or as presents. 

So you see the warlike and hunting apparatus of the 
expedition was very heavy, but we were to depend in a 
great measure on our guns for food. Elephants, ante- 
lopes, Kippbpotami, gazelles, crocodiles, and monke^^s 
would be our chief diet. Then came the scientific in- 
struments : 

4 strong, splendid hunting-case watches, by Brock, Lon- 
don. 

1 watch made by Frodsham, London. 

48 spare watch-keys and 24 spare glasses. 

3 sextants, 8, 6, and 4 inches radius. 
^ 1 binocular yachting-glass. 

1 telescope. 

1 universal sun-dial (a magnificent instrument). 

1 aneroid. 

2 compasses, prismatic, with stand, shades, and refiect- 

or three inches in diameter, to take the bearings 
of land, etc., etc. 
2 pocket compasses. 



16 "THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

1 set drawing instruments (German silver). 

2 dozen drawing-pens. 

2 artificial horizons, folding roof, improved iron trough, 
and bottles containing quicksilver, in sling case. 

1 hypsometrical apparatus. 

2 bull's-eye lanterns, copper boiler, three reservoirs for 

spirits, oil, or candles. 

3 thermometers for measuring heights and boiling wa- 

ter. 
2 thermometers for the sun (to know its power). 
2 thermometers graduated Fahrenheit and Centigrade. 
1 thermometer graduated Centigrade and Reaumur. 

1 powerful electro-magnetic machine, with 90 feet of 

conducting wire or cord. 

2 large magnifying-glasses. 

7 pounds of mercury, in a bottle, as a reserve supply. 
Parallel rule (German silver). 

Protractor, circular, with compass rectifier, in a ma- 
hogany box. 

3 rain-gauges and spare glasses, to tell the amount of 

rain falling at a given time. 

Scale, 18 inches, metal, graduated to inches, and sub- 
divided to tenths and hundredths, in a box. 

Tape, 100 feet, to measure trees. 

75 sheets of skeleton maps, ruled in squares, to mark 
out in the rough my daily route as determined by 
compass. 

4 Nautical Almanacs, 1863, '4, '5, '6, to be used in my 

astronomical observatipns ; and several other sci- 
entific books. 

12 blank books for keeping my daily journal. 

10 memorandum-books. 



PHOTO GBAFHIC APPAMA TUS, 1 7 

10 quires of paper. 

Ink, pens, pencils, slates. 

For illumination I provided 100 pounds of wax can- 
dles, 10 gallons of spirits (alcohol) for lamps, thermom- 
eters, etc., etc. ; 12 gross of matches in boxes, each dozen 
boxes inclosed in a separate soldered tin box. Though 
I had fire-steel and flint, the matches could light a fire 
much quicker, and they were " big things" with the na- 
tives. 

So you see I had a complete set of instruments, and 
in sufficient number, so that in case of accident I could 
replace the injuredtone; and accidents I knew were sure 
to happen. 

If I did not explain to you why I took five watches, I 
am sure you would say that I was foolish to spend so 
much money in watches. Then let me tell you that I 
bought sovinAny because I was afraid that if I took only 
one or two, they might stop running, and in this event it 
would have been impossible for me to know my longi- 
tude, that is to say, how far east or west I might be, and 
to ascertain the day and month, should illness have 
caused me to forget the calendar. No watch can be 
safely depended upon to run for five years in such a cli- 
mate without cleaning. But as four of them had been 
made specially for the journey, I felt assured that at least 
one or two out of the five would run till my return. 

But we have not yet done with my equipment. There 
were 18 boxes containing photographic apparatus, with 
tent, and chemicals for 10,000 photographs. The trans- 
portation of these alone would require twenty men. 

All that I have enumerated to you constituted but a 
small proportion of the things that came on board, and 



18 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS, 

were for my special use, with the exception of the 250 
common guns and a great part of the ammunition. 

There are yet to be mentioned the presents for my old 
friends, who had been so kind to me in my former jour- 
neys, and whom I hoped to see again. These were the 
chiefs whose hospitality I had enjoyed, and my dear 
hunters Aboko, Fasiko, Niamkala, Malaouen, Q^^rlaou- 
en, Gambo, dear old Quengueza, Ranpano, Rikimongani, 
and Obindji, the Bakalai chief. Presents, too, were in- 
dispensable for the people who were to take me from 
tribe to tribe, and the right of way I knew would often 
have to be bought. So more than two months had been 
spent by me in the London clothing, hardware, and dry- 
goods establishments, finding what I wanted. 

I bought more than 5000 pounds of beads of different 
sizes and colors, several hundred pieces of cotton goods, 
some pieces of silks, coats, waistcoats, shirts, 2000 red 
caps^ a few umbrellas, files, knives, bells, fire-steels, flints, 
looking-glasses, forks, spoons, some stove-pipe hats for 
the kings near the sea-shore, straw hats, etc., etc. 

Then, to impress the wild people with what I could do, 
I bought several large Geneva musical boxes, one pow- 
erful electrical battery, several magnets, and six ship 
clocks, etc., etc. 

The abundant results of the sale of my " Adventures 
in Equatorial Africa," and the proceeds arising from the 
disposal of my gorillas, and my collection of beasts, birds, 
insects, and shells, alone enabled me to undertake this 
new expedition, for not one dollar has ever been given 
by any scientific society to help me in any of my travels 
or explorations ; but I was very happy in expending a 
part of my means in the interest of science and for the 



BEASON FOB THE EXPEDITION. 19 

enlargement of our knowledge of unknown countries. I 
only wish now I could have done more, but really I think 
that I did the best I could. 

Years had passed away since I had gone first to Afri- 
ca, my parents were both dead, I was alone in the world 
and the world was before me, and I thought I could do 
nothing better than make another exploration. 

I had made up my mind, without confiding my pur- 
pose to any one, to cross the continent of Africa near the 
equator, from the west to the head waters of the Nile, 
and to set out from the Commi country. I knew my 
old negro friends would help me. That was the reason 
my outfit was on so large a scale. 

The only thing that worried me before my departure 
was our civil war, but then I thought it was soon to endc 





CHAPTEE II. 



ON THE AFKICAN COAST. — MEETING WITH OLD FEIENDS. — 
CHANGES IN FOUK YEARS. — THE CAPTAIn's MISGIVINGS. 



On the 5th of August we sailed from London. I will 
not weary you with a narrative of the voyage. The days 
passed pleasantly on board 'the Mentor. By the end of 
the month of August we were not far from the Tropic 
of Cancer. September glided away calmly, and on the 
7th of October Captain Vardon said that the following 
day we should come in sight of land. 

Accordingly, the next morning I heard from the main- 
top the cry of " Land ! land !" Two hours afterward 
from the deck I could discern the low lands of the Com- 
mi country. Nearer and nearer the coast we' came, un- 
til we could see the white surf breaking with terrific 
force on the shore, and hear the booming sound of the 
angry waves as they dashed against the breakers. The 
country was so monotonous in its outlines that we could 
not make out exactly where we were ; we only knew that 
we were south of Cape Lopez, and not very far from it. 
I thought it strange that I could not recognize the mouth 
of the Fern and Vaz or Commi Eiver. 

No canoes could ride through the surf, so no natives 
could come on board. In the evening we stood off the 
land and shortened sail, and afterward we cast anchor. 




DU CHAILLU MEETS HIS OLD FRIEND ADJOUATONGA. 



VISIT FROM AN OLD FRIEND. 2S ' 

.V. ■* 

The next morning we sailed again in a southerly di^ 
rection, and at last we saw a canoe pass through tlie 
breakers ; it came alongside, and the negroes in it shout- 
ed in English, " Put down the anchor ! Plenty of ivory, 
plenty of every thing ; load the ship in a fortnight." 

We had passed the Fernand Vaz, having sailed too far 
south. The mouth of the river itself is very diflBcult to 
discover. Perhaps you may recollect my having for- 
merly described it as discernible only by the white surf 
combing over its bar, by large flocks of fish-eating birds 
hovering in the air above it, and by a long, white sandy 
point forming the extremity of the land on the left 
bank.^ 

As we approached the river, two canoes left the shore 
and made for the vessel. In the first, as it neared us, I 
recognized my friend Adjouatonga, a chief belonging to 
the clan Adjiena, whose villages occupied the mouth of 
the river. "IHe climbed up the vessel's side, and went to 
,shake hands with the captain, and then advanced toward 
me to do the same. I had not said a word, but upon my 
raising my hat, which had been pulled down so as partly 
to conceal my face, and turning round upon him, he 
stepped back in astonishment, and, recognizing me at 
once, cried out in his own language, " Are you Chally 
or his spirit ? Have you come from the dead ? for we 
have heard you were dead. Tell me quickly, for I do 
not know whether I am to believe my own eyes. Per- 
haps I am getting a kende" (an idiot, a fool). And I 
said, "Adjouatonga, I am Chally, your friend!" The 
good fellow embraced me in a transport of joy, but he 
hugged me so tight and so long that I wished his f riend- 

* Explorations in Equatorial Africa. 

B 



24 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

ship had been less enthusiastic. Four years had nearly 
gone by since I had left the Oommi country. 

As the second canoe came nearer, I ordered Adjoua- 
tonga not to say a word. My heart leaped for joy, for 
in it were my own people from the dear, good old Afri- 
can Washington of mine. Sholomba, the nephew of King 
Ranpano, was there, and my boy Macondai; all my for- 
mer canoe-men, Kombe, Eatenou, Oshimbo, were in that 
canoe. I longed for them to come on board. I could 
hardly restrain myself; but I felt that I must appear hke 
as if I did not know them, and see whether they would 
recognize me. 

In a moment they were on deck, and a wild shout 
of joy came from them, "Our white man has come 
back ! Chally ! Chally !" and they all rushed toward me. 
Good fellows ! in their savage natures they loved me, 
and they remembered the friend who had never wronged 
them. I was seized and almost pulled to pieces, for they 
all wanted to hug me at the same time. Captain Yar- 
don looked with perfect amazement at the scene of greet- 
ing. They seemed to be crazy with joy to see me again. 

Then followed a long and confused account of what 
had taken place since my departure, all talking at the 
same time. 

When we had come back to our senses, the next sub- 
ject to be considered was how I was to get ashore. Of 
course I wished to go by the mouth of the river, but Sho- 
lomba assured me it could not be done. The mouth of 
the Fernand Vaz had changed much for the worse, and 
it would be less dangerous to run a canoe through the 
surf to the beach than to attempt to cross the bar of the 
river. It was now the beginning of the rainy season, 



ONCE MORE IN AFRICA. 25 

when the winds are less violent than in the dry season, 
but the surf had not subsided from the agitation of the 
heavy south winds of the dry season. 

The anchor was cast, and I left the Mentor in Adjou- 
atono;a's canoe, which was a better one than the other. 

All was excitement in the canoe, and the men sang. 
Adjouatonga, looking more and more anxious as we ap- 
proached the rollers, rested outside for a while, and then, 
at the proper moment, skillfully directed the frail canoe 
over the crest of a huge wave, which bore us with light- 
ning speed to the beach, where I was caught up by the 
natives that were waiting for us, and carried safely to 
dry land. Tremendous huzzas were given. 

Once more I stood on African soil 

The people recognized me, and I was hurried along, 
amidst a crowd of several hundred savages, all dancing 
and shoiiting with frantic joy, across the sandy tongue 
of land to^e banks of the Commi, my own Commi Riv- 
er, where canoes were waiting to take us to Was*hington 
and to old King Eanpano. 

Time had wrought great changes in the land of my 
former explorations. The mouth of the river had altered 
so much that I could hardly recognize it. The long, 
sandy, reed-covered pits, which projected three miles 
from the southern point of the river's mouth, and which 
had been the scene of many hunting adventures with 
ducks, cranes, and sea-gulls, had disappeared, and the sea 
had washed the sand away, and taken the greater part of 
it to the northern side of the village of Elinde, whose 
chief, Sangala, had given me so much trouble in former 
times. The spot where Sangala's village had stood had 
become untenanted, and the people had removed. Many 



26 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

a dear little island, where I used to hide to shoot birds, 
had also been submerged or washed away, and I no lon- 
ger saw the flocks of sea-fowl which formerly frequented 
the locality. 

I felt sad indeed ; a pang of sorrow shot through me. 
It was like a dream ; the scene of my former hunting 
had vanished, and nothing but the record of what I had 
written about the land was left. I can not express to 
you the lonely feeling that came over me. Though ev- 
ery thing was changed, the former picture of the land- 
scape was before. me. I remembered every island, every 
little outlet, the herd of hippopotami, the " Caroline" in- 
side the bar quietly at anchor. / 

Oh, I would have given any thing if I could have seen 
the country as it was when I left it ! I had been so hap- 
py, I spent so many pleasant days there, I had so loved to 
roam on that sandy point, and to lie on its sand ! ISTow 
it was nothing but a dream ; it had been swept away. 

The canoes in the river being ready, I embarked in 
one, followed by all the others, the people singing, " Our 
ntangani (white man) has come back. Oh, how we love 
our white man ! Oh, how our white man loves us ! for 
he has come back to us. Yes, we never stole from our 
white man; J our white man remembers that, and he 
comes back to us, for he is not afraid of us." 

Paddling up the stream, many, many sights I recog- 
nized; many mangrove -trees I remembered; the old 
banks of the river were familiar to me. I looked eager- 
ly at every thing around. 

Halloo ! what do I see yonder ? a herd of hippopota- 
mi motionless in the water, and looking for all the world 
like old logs stuck in the mud. Familiar species of 



SAD NEWS OF AN OLD FRIEND. 27 

cranes stalked about here and there, the pelican swam 
majestically, the kingfishers were watching for their 
prey, with white cranes and ducks not far from them. 

Thus we glided along up the river. My heart was full ; 
I did not speak a word. Soon we came in front of my 
old settlement of Washington, of which I gave you a pic- 
ture in my Apingi Kingdom. 

Oh ! what do I see ? Nothing but ruins ! The houses 
had all tumbled down ; a few bamboos and rotting poles 
alone remained to show me where my big house stood. 
The four trees between which my house had been built 
were still there ; the gum copal tree was in front. The 
little village for my men was not to be seen ; desolation 
had taken possession of the place. - One single house was 
still standing. The men stopped their singing; their 
faces became sad. A feeling that some misfortune had 
happened seized me. 

I got itp and shouted, looking the men steadily in the 
face, " Where is Rikimongani, my friend, he whom I in- 
trusted with the settlement of Washington T " Dead, 
dead," said they. " The people were jealous that you 
loved him so well, and they did not want him to see you 
again, and they bewitched him ; he fell ill, and died." 

" Eikimongani dead !" I exclaimed. I took off my hat 
as we passed the place, and said, " Oh, how sorry I am, 
Rikimongani ! What shall I do with the fine old coat I 
have for you ? what shall I do with the nice cane and 
the fine hat I have brought for you ? Oh, dear Rikimon- 
gani,! have many presents for you. Rikimongani, did 
you know how much I loved you ?" 

"See," shouted the men, "how much he loved Riki- 
mongani !" 



28 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

'^ Oh yes," said the canoe-men, " he always talked of 
you, and said he was sure you would come back, though 
we all said that you would not, and that you would for- 
get us. Eikimongani used to say, ' One day we shall see 
a white sail, and Chally will be on board, and he will 
land and come to see us again.' In the evenings he 
would talk of you to us boys." 

Tears filled my eyes. Then Sholomba whispered to 
me, " When the wizards who were accused of having be- 
witched Rikimongani were about to drink the mboun- 
dou, they said, ' Chally has killed Eikimongani, for he 
will never come back here, and he loves Eikimongani so 
much that he has killed him, so that he might have his 
spirit always with him.' And," said Sholomba, " many 
believed them, but many did not." 

" We must not land here," said Sholomba. " Chally, 
you must never build here ; the people are afraid of the 
place ; nobody will dare to come here, for people die al- 
ways in this place. Several times villages had been 
built, and the people had to leave this spot. Witchcraft 
is here." 

I felt that I had come back to a wild life, full of su- 
perstitions and legends. 

We paddled till we came two miles above my place 
of Washington, which had brought back so many rem- 
iniscences to me. Though I would have liked to build 
again there, I could not think of it on account of the su- 
perstitious dread of the natives for the spot. 

When we stopped, Sholomba and Djombouai had 
reached their little village. Eanpano was away from 
home, on the Ogobai Eiver. So I resolved to build a 
new settlement close to their village. 



A WARM-HEARTED RECEPTIOK 29 

Messengers were sent to King Ranpano to tell him to 
come^ and the news spread over the country that Chally 
had come back, and the people from all the villages and 
the country round came trooping by land and water to 
see their old friend, and to hear about the stores of good 
things he had brought with him. They came pouring 
in day after day, camping in the woods, on the prairie, 
every where. They would endure hunger rather than 
go home. Many, many an old face I saw ; many a kind- 
hearted woman came and told me how glad she was to 
see me ; many boys and girls who had grown up said 
they wanted to work for me; many people brought me 
presents of food. 

How pleased I was ! Oh yes, I had tried to do right 
with these savages, and they knew it, and they loved me 
for it. I knew that not one of them thought imkindly 
of me. 1 

The day after my landing I dispatched Sholomba with 
a canoe filled with paddlers up the river. Those among 
you who have followed me in my former adventures 
must guess where I sent that canoe. 

To the village of King Quengueza, that dear old chief. 
I wanted to see his face. I had brought great numbers 
of presents for him, to show him that in the white man's 
country I had thought of him. I had brought presents 
for many of his people, his nephews, sons, and nieces. 
His old faithful slaves were not forgotten — good old Etia 
among them ; and his head slave Mombon. 

So one canoe had gone for friend Eanpano, and an- 
other for good old Quengueza. 

Canoes strong enough to go through the surf were 
coming from all the villages. Huts were given to me in 



30 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

which to store my goods, and now we had reached the 
point of bringing them ashore. 

It was necessary for me to go on board the Mentor, 
and arrange the mode of disembarkation of my exten- 
sive outfit and stock of goods. As the mouth of the riv- 
er had become unsafe on account of the breaking-up of 
the sandy spit, and was now an uninterrupted line of 
^breakers, we resolved to land every thing on the beach 
through the surf, and then carry them across to the river, 
and put them in other canoes, which were to carry them 
to my new settlement. 

So on the l4th I went to the schooner, and slept on 
board that night. Captain Yardon was somewhat anx- 
ious ; he had never been on this wild and unfrequented 
part of the coast, so far from any civilized settlements, 
and when he saw me he was delighted, and said that he 
began to think that the natives had murdered me. He 
had kept an armed guard on the watch all the time, for, 
said he, such a country looked exactly like one where 
the natives could pounce upon the unsuspecting vessel, 
murder the crew, and rob the ship. I assured him that 
there was no danger ; that I could do what I wished with 
the Commi people, as he would be able to see for him- 
self ; and that, though many of the boxes would have to 
be opened, and the goods deposited loose in the canoes, 
not a single thing would be stolen. 

Knowing the negroes of the Coast (for he had been a 
trader), he seemed somewhat incredulous at my state- 
ment. 



CHAPTEE III. 

LANDING GOODS. — AMONG THE BREAKEKS. — KING EANPANO. 
— LOSS OF INSTEUMENTS.^KING QUENGUEZA. — A PALA- 
VEE. — CHANGING NAMES. 

The next morning, at daybreak, three canoes came 
alongside to take off the cargo. The men brought the 
news that King Kanpano had arrived, and was on the 
beach. 

Mv most precious things were lowered into the canoes, 
and wl^ every thing was ready, the captain concluded 
to go ashore w^ith me. 

The captain and I got into the canoe containing all 
my scientific instruments, medicines,- some of my best 
guns, my watch chronometers, five Geneva musical box- 
es, etc., etc. Before we left the captain ordered the 
mate to keep a sharp look-out, and fasten to the anchors 
seventy fathoms .of chain, for the sea was heavy. The 
crew came to say good-by to me, and as our canoes left 
the side of the Mentor they gave three cheers for me. 
Then, as fast as our paddles could propel us, we made 
for the beach. 

As we approached the breakers, the faces of the ca- 
noe-men looked anxious, for the swells were heavy, and 
I could hear the roar of the surf. Nearer and nearer 
we came. The two other canoes were ahead of us. 

B2 



32 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

The men were watching the swells, resting on their 
paddles. At last w^e hear their cheers; they plunge 
their paddles into the water, and onward they go toward 
the shore, rolling on the top of a heavy, long swell. 

My men thought we were too late, as we were behind, 
and had better wait for the next lull. In the mean time 
we watched the two canoes ; they seemed for a while to 
be buried in the foaming billows. " Surely," I said to 
Captain Y ardon, " those canoes will never reach the shore 
safely." 

" I don't believe they will," was his answer. 

"We had reached a point just outside the breakers, 
where we watch ; the two canoes appear again ; they 
have not capsized; the men are covered with spray; 
they are paddling as hard as they can ; they are over the 
breakers ; they land safely ; the people on the shore seize 
the canoes, and bring them up the beach. 

Now our time has come, and the men are watching 
anxiously. I have the finest canoe-men of the Commi 
tribe in my canoe. Oshimbo holds the steering-paddle. 
Kombe, Eatenou, Ondonga, Gonwe, Sholomba, and the 
others, are not only splendid paddlers, but they all swim 
like fish — a very important thing for me if we capsize. 
My sixteen men are resting on their paddles; they are 
all looking outside, and watching the heavy rollers as 
they come in. Generally six of these come, and then 
there is a kind of a lull. " Get ready ! paddle hard !" 
shouted Oshimbo. The men s^ave a terrific Commi hur- 
ra, and down went their paddles, and with heavy strokes 
we got on what we thought a gentle swell. We had 
hardly got on it when tl^^well became higher and high- 
er, carrying us almost w'ith lightning speed ; then it be- 



AMOXG THE BMEAKERS. 33 

gan to crest itself; we were caught, and finally were 
dashed upon a white foaming wave with fearful force. 
" Be careful !" shouted Oshimbo. "Have your eyes upon 
our white man !" 

Though we did not upset, our canoe was partly filled 
with water, and the rush of the wave had prevented 
Oshimbo's paddle from acting as a rudder, and the ca- 
noe was now lying broadside at the mercy of the next 
wave that should come. 

" Hurry !" shouted Oshimbo to the men ; "'let us bring 
back the canoe's head on to the waves !" and the men 
put forth all their might to rescue us from our perilous 
position. Just as we had succeeded in bringing the ca- 
noe round, a second immense roller, coming from far 
out at sea, and mounting higher and higher as it ap- 
proached, threatened our destruction. We were in fear- 
ful suspense. Perhaps we will be able to ride upon it ; 
perhaps irwill break ahead of us. It was a terrific one. 
My men cried again with one voice, " Let us look out 
for our white man !" 

These words were hardly uttered when the huge wave 
broke over the stern of our canoe with appalling force, 
instantly upsetting it and hurling us into the sea, where 
we were deeply submerged in the spray. 

I do not know how I ever got back on the surface of 
the water, but when I did I was some forty feet from the 
canoe, and all the men were scattered far and wide. 

I was almost stunned. Breaker upon breaker suc- 
ceeded each other with awful rapidity, sending us rolling 
about under them, and giving us hardly time to breathe. 
The sea all round became a m^y of foaming billows. 
By this time all my faithful negroes were around me, 



34 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWABFS. 

shouting to each other, " To our ntangani — our ntangani 
(white man) !" It was indeed high time, for I felt my- 
self sinking. A minute more, and I wpuld have sank 
helpless to the bottom of the sea, never to rise again. 
The Commi swam round me and held me up, till anoth- 
er wave would scatter us again, and then they came back 
to my succor. 

In spite of all their efforts, I became weaker and weak- 
er. They had succeeded in ridding me of the greater 
part of my clothing, but, notwithstanding this relief, my 
strength was fast failing me, and I had drank large 
quantities of salt water. 

I cried, " Where is the captain ? Go for him !" My 
cry was just in time, for he was in his last struggle for 
life. Once we had got hold of the canoe, but the waves 
had made us loose our grip. Loud shouts came from 
the shore ; the people were almost frantic. Canoe after 
canoe was launched, but only to be swamped in the break- 
ers the next instant. 

At length the tumult of the waves subsided; there 
came a lull, and the rising tide had driven us toward the 
beach. We were not far from it, indeed, and now we 
^ rested a little, holding fast to our capsized canoe. 

At last a canoe succeeded in leaving the shore, and 
came to our rescue. As it reached us the crew jumped 
into the sea to give us their places, and, in order not to 
load it too heavily, they swam alongside, holding fast to 
it to keep it steady. 

• As we neared the shore, the natives did not wait for 
me to land, but ran into the water, and, seizing me, car- 
ried me off in their arms, in the midst of deafening cries 
and cheers, the women wringing their hands and shout- 



MEETING BANPANO, 35 

ing, " The sea wanted to eat our white man ; the sea 
wanted to eat our white man." 

The people led me into a thicket of trees^ where a 
bright fire was lighted, and whom should I see but King 
Kanpano seated on the ground, his little idol before him, 
his eyes shining with excitement, and his body trembling 
all over. I drew myself up, trying to look haughty and 
displeased. 

" Eanpano," I said, " if any one had told me that you 
did not care for me, I would not have believed them. 
What !" said I, " every one was on the shore to see what 
they could do to save us from drowning ; even your wife, 
the queen, was there, and went into the sea to catch me 
as we landed, and I might have died and been drowned 
for all that you cared. You were cold, and you sat by 
the fire." 

" Oh," said Eanpano, " my white man die in the wa- 
ter ? Ifever, while I am alive ! How could it be ? how 
could it be ? Oh no, Chally, you could not be drowned — 
you could not, my white man ; my Chally will never die 
in our country. I have a fetich, and as long as I wear 
it you can not be drowned. I was talking to my idol ; 
I was invoking before her the spirit of my father to pro- 
tect you in the sea. When the waves were around you, 
I begged the idol to send the sharks away from you. Oh, 
Chally, I would not leave the idol for fear you might per- 
ish. Oh !" exclaimed Eanpano, with a stentorian voice, 
"there are people already jealous of me* and of my vil- 
lage. Some village has sent an aniemba to upset the 
canoe." 

The wildest excitement prevailed around me. I was 
partly stunned, and I had drunk a great deal of salt wa- 



3 6 THE CO UNTR Y OF TBE D WARFS. 

ter. Poor Captain Yardon had a narrow escape, and, as 
he said, he was sinking when my boys — my good boys — 
dinched him. And once more I thanked silently the 
great God that had watched so mercifully over me. 

After a while I realized the severe blow I had received 
when the great loss I had sustained presented itself to 
my mind. Scientific instruments, watch chronometers, 
medicines, guns, musical instruments, etc., etc., had gone 
to the bottom of the sea. 

" Oh dear," said I to myself, " I must remain here on 
this barren and lonely coast, and wait for a vessel to come 
back and bring me new scientific instruments, for with- 
out them I can not go across the continent toward the 
Nile. I wish to make a good map of the country, to 
take accurate astronomical observations, to determine 
the height of the mountains, and to be able to ascertain 
at any time the day and the month if I should forget 
their regular succession in the calendar, and, without my 
instruments, all this will be impossible." 

I can not tell you how sorry I felt. That evening I 
felt utterly heart-broken, and I could have cried. " But," 
said I to myself, " to bear my misfortune with fortitude 
is true manhood ;" and, though it was hard to believe it, 
I knew that all that had happened was for the best. 

Captain Yardon felt a sincere sympathy with me. The 
poor man was himself an object of commiseration, for he 
was so exhausted and had drunk so much water that he 
was quite ill. 

My mind was made up, however, that very day as to 
what I should *do. I must manage to have a letter reach 
the island of Fernando Po, and then that letter would be 
forwarded to London. That letter will be for Messrs. 



RECEPTION BY q UENO UEZA, 3 7 

Baring Brothers, and I will ask them to send me a ves- 
sel with all I need. 

The next night, as I lay on my hard bed pondering 
my wondrous escape from the deep sea, I could not help 
thinking bitterly of the heavy loss I had sustained. It 
was not so much for the large sum of money that had 
been sacrificed, but for the great waste of time this ca- 
tastrophe had entailed upon me. 

I could not sleep ; these thoughts kept me awake. I 
turned from side to side in the hope that an easier posi- 
tion would put me to sleep, but it was of no avail, when 
suddenly I heard the sound of the natives' bugles on the 
river. The people were blowing their bugles made of 
antelopes' horns, and then I heard the songs of a multi- 
tude of paddlers. The sound became more and more 
distinct as the canoes neared my cabin. Then I could 
hear di^tin^tly, " Quengueza, our king, comes to see his 
great friend Chally — Chally, who has returned from the 
white man's country." 

Soon after the singing stopped, and I knew that they 
had landed. 

AH my gloomy fancies were soon forgotten, and I got 
up and dressed myself as quickly as possible. As I 
opened my door, whom should I see, as quiet as a statue 
in front of my hut, but King Quengueza, the venerable 
chief. He opened his arms to receive me, and we hugged 
each other without saying a word. The great and pow- 
erful African chief, the dread of the surrounding tribes 
and clans, the great warrior, held me in his arms, and 
after a while he said, " Chally, I would have staid before 
your door all night if I had not seen you. I could not 
go to sleep without embracing you, for you do not know 



38 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

how much I love you. You do not know how many 
times I have thought of you, and many, many times I 
have said to my people, ' We shall not see Chally again.' 
And first, when Sholomb^ told me you had come, and 
had sent for me, I said, ^ Sholomba, this is a lie; Chally 
has not come. Four rainy seasons and four dry seasons 
have passed away, and if he had intended coming he 
would have been here long ago. No, Sholomba, why do 
you come and make fun of me ? It is a lie ; Chally has 
not come — Chally has not come, and he will not come 
any more to the country of the black man.' " 

" Here I am," I said, " friend Quengueza ; your friend . 
Chally is before you. He has thought of you many and 
many a time in the white man's country ; he has not for- 
gotten you ;" and I whispered in his ears, " He has brought 
you a great many fine things which no black man has 
seen before, and which no black man will have but your- 
self." 

Then the old chief ordered his attendants to retire, and 
when he had entered my little hut I lighted a torch, and 
he looked at me and I looked at him without our saying 
a word. Then I seated myself on the edge of my bed, 
and the king seated himself on the little stool close to 
me, and filled his pipe with native Ashira tobacco, and 
we had a long talk. 

I said, " Quengueza, I have come. Since I saw you a 
great many things have happened. I have been in dif- 
ferent countries of the white man. Many know you, 
many love you, for I have told the white man what great 
friends we were — how much we Joved each other. I have 
told them how kind you were to your friend Chally ; that 
every thing he wanted you gave to him, and that not one 



A PALAVER. 39 

of your people ever took any thing from Chally — if he 
had he would have had his head cut off or been sold into 
slavery. Many white men and white women, boys and 
girls, know you, and I have presents from them for you, 
which you shall see in a few days. I have told them 
what we did together, how we went into the woods to- 
gether, and how we cut that big ebony-tree" — here I 
stopped a while, and presently said, " how I hope to go 
farther inland than I have ever been, and will come back 
again by the sea." 

Then I remained silent, and the old chief rose tip, the 
shadow of his stately form falling behind him. For a 
few moments he did not utter a word, and then he said, 

" Chally, my town is yours ; my forests, my slaves are 
yours ; all the girls and women of my village are yours ; 
I will have no will of my own when you are with me. 
You shall be the chief, and whatever you say shall be 
obeyed. "^You shall never know hunger as long as there 
is a plantain-tree on our plantation, or a wild animal in 
the forests. And, Chally, when you shall say ' I must 
go — go far away, where nobody has been,' I will let you 
go ; I will help you to go, though my heart will be sad 
when you depart." 

I found Quengueza still in mourning for his brother, 
whom he had succeeded, and that he had taken his broth- 
er's name, " Oganda," which is the name taken by every 
chief of the Abouya clan. What a queer custom they 
have ! The law of inheritance there is from brother to 
brother, and Quengueza's name had been Ratenou Kom- 
be Quengueza, and now came the last, which he was to 
carry to his grave, Oganda. 

I said, " Friend Quengueza, it will be hard for me to 



40 THE COUNTMY OF THE DWAMFS. 

call you Oganda, for the name by which I have learned 
' to love you is Quengueza." 

" Never mind^ Chally, call me Quengueza/' said he ; 
and, as he left my hut, he implored me once more in a 
whisper not to tell any one that I had brought him pres- 
ents, " for," said he, " if the people knew that you had 
brought me many fine things, they would bewitch me, 
and I should die." ' 

I saw that poor Quengueza was as superstitious as ever. 

The old chief then went to the hut that had been pre- 
pared for him during his visit to me. By this time it 
was four o'clock in the morning, and the cock in the vil- 
lage had already begun to crow when I lay down to sleep. 




CHAPTER lY. 

HONEST AFRICANS. DISTRIBUTmG PRESENTS. QUENGUEZA's 

DIPLOMACY. ANOTHER PALAVER. A NEW SETTLEMENT. 



The day after the arrival of Qiiengueza, word was sent 
to me by the canoe-raen on the shore that the surf was 
quiet, and that canoes could go to sea and return in per- 
fect safety. 

During the day seven large canoes were carried over 
the narrow tongue of land to the beach, and twenty-one 
remained^n the river-side to take to my new settlement 
the goods that would be landed-- 

It was important to expedite as much as possible the 
landing of the goods, for this would only be safe for a 
few days, till the change of the moon. 

The next morning, at daylight, seven canoes left for 
the vessel, and each canoe made that day three trips, so 
that twenty-one canoe-loads of goods were landed and 
carried across to the canoes on the river. Then we got 
ready to go home, but not before hauling high up on the 
beach our seven sea-canoes. 

After four days' hard work, seventy canoe-loads had 
been landed, and the cargo was all ashore. I breathed 
freely once more ; not a load had been swamped. We 
had just finished when the breakers became dangerous 



42 THE CO UNTR T OF THE B WARES. 

again, and in a day or two more it would have been im- 
possible to go through them. 

Not an article was missing. Captain Yardon was 
amazed. I said to him, " Did I not tell you that my 
Commi men would not steal T 

You would have laughed to see the miscellaneous arti- 
cles which formed part of the cargo. Many of them 
were specially manufactured for the African market, 
and the heavy goods were to be given to Quengueza, 
Kanpano, Olenga-Yombi, Obindji, and the chiefs living 
on the banks of the Eembo and Ovenga rivers. 

The great trouble was to put all the goods under shel- 
ter. They had to be stored in several huts. There were 
no locks on the doors, but I was not afraid of the peo- 
ple, and my confidence was justified, for not an article 
was stolen. Captain Yardon wondered at it ; he had 
been a trader for a good many years on the Coast, and 
said it was marvelous. So it w^as ; there is no city in 
any Christian country where these thousands of dollars' 
worth of goods could be as safe. I loved the Commi, 
and the Commi loved me. 

After every thing had been housed, I thought it was 
time to make a distribution of the presents I intended 
for my friends. Quengueza's presents will give you a 
fair idea of the articles I had brought into the country. 

So one afternoon I went for friend Quengueza when 
every body was taking their afternoon nap. He followed 
me, accompanied by several of his great men, nephews, 
and wives ; for a great king like Quengueza could not 
walk alone ; he must have a retinue, or escort. Quen- 
gueza was very fond of this sort of thing, but that day 
he did not like it a bit ; he did not want his people to 



DISTRIBUTING PRESENTS. 43 

see what I was going to give him, but he did not dare to 
send them away, so he whispered into my ear, " Chally, 
send them away when you come to your house, for I do 
not want any body inside." 

So I dismissed Quengueza's people, and, after Quen- 
gueza and I had entered the hut, he closed the door him- 
self, to make sure, and peeped through the crevices to see 
that nobody was trying to look in. Then he seated him- 
self and awaited developments. 

I opened a chest filled with presents for him. The 
first thing I displayed before his wide-open eyes was a 
huge long coat, similar to those worn by the London 
beadles. This coat had been made specially for his maj- 
esty, and to fit his tall figure, for Quengueza was over 
six feet high. It was of the most glaring colors — blue, 
with yellow fringe, and lined with red. There was also 
a splendid plush waistcoat, with big brass buttons. His 
coat fell"lo his feet. I gave him no pantaloons, for 
Quengueza never liked to wear them. 

After Quengueza's admiring eyes had looked with 
amazement on his splendid coat and bright yellow waist- 
coat, he must try them on ; but, before doing so, he went 
again to see that no one was peeping in. I wondered 
why his majesty, who was a perfect despot, was so much 
afraid. 

Having put on his robe or morning-gown, I gave him 
an enormous drum-major's cane, with a tremendous gild- 
ed head, to be used as a staff ."^ He stiffened himself at 
the sight, and asked for a looking-glass, in which he re- 
garded himself with an air of supreme satisfaction. Then 
I took out of my trunk my opera hat, which of course 
* See Frontispiece. 



44 THE COTINTRY OF THE DWABFS. 

was flat when shut up, and gave it a slight punch, wh,en 
the springs immediately threw it out into the shape of a 
splendid stove-pipe hat^ to the utter astonishment and be- 
wilderment of King Quengueza. Then I put the hat on 
his head, and his majesty walked to and fro, drawing 
himself to his full height. After some minutes he took 
off his imperial costume, putting the clothes back in the 
chest where they came from, and proceeded to inspect 
the other presents, among which were 

6 pieces of silk, of different colors. 

100 pieces of calico prints. 

6 silver spoons, knives, and forks. 

1 silver goblet. 

1 magnificent red, blue, and yellow silk umbrella. 

Among the larger articles were 

1 common brass kettle. 

100 iron bars, 6 feet long, If wide. 

50 large copper plates 24 inches in diameter. 

50 small brass kettles. 

50 iron pots. 

50 guns. 

50 kegs of powder. 

25 wash-basins. 

12 dozen plates. 

6 dozen glasses. 

300 pounds of beads, of different colors and sizes. 

50 pine chests. 

200 pairs of ear-rings for his wives. 

Several chests containing trinkets, mirrors, files, forks, 
knives, etc. 

A chest filled with nice presents sent to him by some 
of my friends. 



qUENOUJEZA'S DIPLOMACY. 45 

The chests were his delight, for the wealth of a king 
here is composed chiefly of chests, which, of course, are 
supposed to be filled with goods. 

King Quengueza never thought that his friend Chally 
would have remembered him so. profitably. 

After showing him all these things, I made him a 
speech, and said, in a low tone, " Quengueza, Chally has 
a heart (ore'ma) ; he has a heart that loves you. When 
he left you the last time Jie was poor, and had nothing to 
give you, but you loved hin^ the same as if he had pos- 
sessed a thousand chests filled with goods. Now he is 
rich, and has just come back from the white man's coun- 
try, and he brings you all these fine presents, for Chally 
loves you ;" and when I said " loves you" I looked at him 
steadilj^ in the face. The sight of all this wealth had 
almost dumbfounded the old man, and for a while he 
could not speak. Finally he said, 

" Do you^ love me, Chally ? If you do, do not tell the 
people what you have given me, or they will bewitch me 
to have my property." 

The fear of witchcraft was a great defect in the char- 
acter of poor Quengueza. He was always in dread of 
being bewitched, and consequently of dying. 

Then he knelt down and clasped my feet with his 
hands, and, with his face distorted by fear, begged me 
again not to tell any body in the country what I had 
given him. This taking hold of a man's feet is the most 
imploring way of asking a favor; it was the first time 
in his life that Quengueza, the great chief of the Abouya 
clan, had done such a thing. I promised him, of course, 
never to tell any thing to his people. 

After a while he went away, and his subjects crowded 



46 THIJ COUNTBY OF THE DWARFS. 

round him, expecting fully to hear what fine things his 
friend Chally had brought him, when I heard him shout, 
with the loudest voice he could summon, 

"My friend Chally knows nothing but talk, and has 
brought me nothing." Coming toward me, he repeated 
the statement just as loudly, and looked at me at the 
same time with an imploring sort of a look, as if to say, 
" Do not say any thing." But Quengueza's people knew 
me better ; they knew very well that Chally, the great 
friend of Quengueza, would not come back from the 
white man's country without bringing him something, 
and they were smiling all the while, for they were well 
acquainted with the ways of their beloved old chief, who 
was a miser, and never wanted his people to know what 
he possessed. I kept his presents till his departure. 

I gave presents also to good old Eanpano, to the chiefs 
that had come to see me, to their wives, and to my old 
friends, and then the people returned to their different 
villages. Quengueza's people were busy every day col- 
lecting the long bamboo-like branches of palm-trees for 
my new settlement, which they were to build for me. 

Before the departure of the chiefs, I assembled them, 
and we held a grand palaver, at which they agreed that 
the Mentor should not leave their country until they had 
laden her with their products — woods. India-rubber, 
ivory, wax, etc. 

The night Quengueza took leave his confidential slaves 
were busy taking his presents from my hut to the large 
canoes they had with them, which having been safely ac- 
complished, they departed before daylight. Quengueza 
threatened with death any one of his men who should 
say a word of what had passed. 



A NEW SETTLEMENT, 4/^ 

Then, for the first time since my arrival, it looked as if 
I was going to have a quiet time. I was glad of it, for I 
had been ill with fever, and wanted rest and quiet in or- 
der to get well. Old Eanpano would stay for hours by 
my bedside, hardly ever uttering a word, but I could see 
by his face that the old man felt anxiety on my account. 
He would say sometimes, " Chally, Chally, you must not 
be ill ; none of my people want to see you ill. I love 
you ; we all love yon ;" and when he went away he mut- 
tered words which no doubt were invocations to spirits, 
for Eanpano, like the rest of his people, was very super- 
stitious. 

The superstition of the natives being so great about 
the site of my old settlement of Washington, I found it 
was impossible to build there again. Not far from it 
there was a nice spot, just on the bank of the river, which 
I liked v^ry much ; but at that spot there was a little 
Commi vil%e, whose chief was called Eabolo. The only 
thing to be done was to buy Eabolo out, and I succeeded 
in purchasing the whole village for several guns, some 
kegs of powder, a brass kettle, a few brass rings and iron 
bars, and two or three pieces of cloth. I allowed the 
people to take the houses away with them, and I set to 
work immediately to build my new settlement. 

Quengueza's people went at it vigorously, and, with 
the help of Eanpano's people, we began building in ear- 
nest. Captain Vardon, myself, and a negro being the car- 
penters. The doors and windows we made with the bot- 
toms of large canoes. 

The smaller buildings were soon finished, and the peo- 
ple were hard at work on my large dwelling-house ; but 
when we came to the veranda, and the posts had to be 

C 



4 8 THE CO UNTR Y OF THE D WARES. 

put in the ground^ my men were suddenly seized with 
fear. 

There was in the ground a formidable monda^ or fetich, 
which my friend Eabolo had buried in his village before 
I purchased it, and which happened to be exactly upon 
the site of my house, and almost in front of my door. 

Poor Eabolo had never dreamed that I would build 
my house just on that very spot. 

Eabolo was not in town, and the builders did not dare 
to remove the monda, declaring that there would be a 
great palaver if they touched Eabolo's monda ; " for," 
said they, " Eabolo's monda, which he has put in the 
ground, is a very good one ; for, since his village has been 
established, twelve dry and twelve rainy seasons ago, no 
one has died there." This was no great monda after all, 
for Eabolo's village was only composed of his family, 
Kk and there were fifteen inhabitants in all, not including 
^ the dogs, goats, fowls, and parrots. 

Eabolo was sent for. He was loth to agree to have 
the monda removed; "for," said he, "not one of us has 
died since I made it. You can not take it." "Then," 
said I, " Eabolo, give me back the goods I have given 
you ; I must go somewhere else." But poor Eabolo had 
given away the goods — had bought two more wives — and 
could not give me back my money. I knew it, and was 
firm. I insisted that the whole place belonged to me ; 
that I bought it, above the ground and under the ground, 
to the very water's edge. So at last Eabolo, with a sad 
face, consented to have the monda removed. 

To enter Eabolo's settlement you had to go under a 
portal, which was made of two upright poles and a cross- 
bar. Eound the poles grew a talismanic creeper, which 



\ 



-' -J HABOLO'S MONDA. 1^1 49 

had been planted immediately after the queer gate had 
been erected ; but at the erection of the gate there were 
great ceremonies, for Eabolo's powerful monda was to be 
buried in the ground, and that monda was to protect the 
Tillage, and Eabolo and his family, from aniemba (witch- 
craft) and death ; so I did not wonder that it was with a 
frightened face poor Eabolo allowed me to take away 
what he considered the protector of himself and family. 

Eabolo was a quiet man — a good man; not a blood- 
thirsty savage. His little village lived at peace with all 
the Commi villages around him. 

Eabolo asked to be allow^ed to take the monda away 
himself. This I granted. Then he began to cut the 
bushes and the creeper, which was of the same kind that 
grew on the gate, that in the course of time had grown 
over his talisman, and, digging a hole in the ground, soon 
came to the spot where the wonderful monda lay. The 
first thing he turned up was the skull of a chimpanzee; 
then came the skull of a man, probably of one of the an- 
cestors of Eabolo. The people were looking in silence 
at the scene before them ; they seemed to think that Ea- 
bolo was doing a wonderful thing, and some thought that 
he would have to pay with his life for his daring deed. 
Poor superstitious fellow ! around the skulls were pieces 
of pottery and crockery of all sorts, w^hich had been put 
there as an offering, or to keep company with the skulls. 

Then we went to the entrance, and he removed the up- 
right posts of the gate, and cut away the creeper that 
twined itself around it. This creeper was a long-lived 
species, and the superstition was that as long as it kept 
alive the monda would retain its power. Eabolo dug in 
the sandy soil of the prairie near where the creeper grew. 



50 TMI! COUNTBT OF THE JDWABFS. 

and turned up more skulls of chimpanzees and broken 
pieces of pottery. The two idols on either side of the 
gate were removed also. 

A few days after, I heard the people say that it was 
Rabolo's monda that had made me come to that spot ; 
for they believe, in that far-away country which is the 
land of the chimpanzee, that the chimpanzee and the 
white man have something to do with each other, the 
pale yellow face of the chimpanzee seeming somewhat 
to resemble ours, while the dark face of the gorilla leads 
them to believe that the gorilla sprung from the black 
man. Skulls of chimpanzees were just now in great de- 
mand, as mondas were to be made with them in many 
villages, for they were fully persuaded that if they had 
them people from the land of the white man would come 
and settle among them. 

Four weeks after my arrival in the Commi country my 
new settlement was built, and was exactly like my old 
settlement of Washington, a picture of which I gave you 
in my Apingi Kingdom, and I gave to it the name of 
Plateau, on account of the country being flat. 

After the completion of my house there was great ex- 
citement in the settlement. Eanpano had declared that 
he could not enter my house ; a doctor had told him that 
some person who was an aniemba, a wizard, had made a 
monda, a charm, and had put it under the threshold of 
the door of my house, so that if he entered my hut the 
witch or aniemba would go into him, and he would die. 

I got f mnous at Ranpano's superstition, and said to him 
that, while he pretended to love me, he insulted me by 
not coming to see me. His answer was that he loved 
me. His people felt badly about it. Doctors were sent 



RANPANO'S SUPURSTITIOK 5 j 

for ; they drank the mboundou, and declared that it was 
true that some one wanted to bewitch him, and had put 
a monda under my door to kill him. 

Immediately ceremonies for driving away the witch 
were begun. For three days they danced almost inces- 
santly, making a terrible noise near my premises, which 
almost set me crazy ; drums were beating day and night. 
At the end of the third day I heard suddenly a tremen- 
dous noise made with the drums, and a gun was fired at 
my door. Kanpano entered muttering invocations, and 
wild with excitement, and the people declared that the 
aniemba under my door that was to kill the king had 
been driven away. - 




CHAPTEE V. 

DEPARTUEE OF THE MENTOR. ME. AND MES. THOMAS CHIM- 
PANZEE. THOMAS IN LONDON. LEFT ALONE IN AFEICA. 

DEPAETUEE FEOM PLATEAU. A TOENADO. NENGUE 

SHIKA. — TEACES OF GOEILLAS. NENGUE NCOMA. — KING 

OLENGA-YOMBI. THE IPI. 

The day of departure of the Mentor had come. My 
heart was heavy ; my good friend and companion, Cap- 
tain Vardon, was going to leave me. I was to be left all 
alone in that wild country, when but a few months be- 
fore I had been in the big city of London. How lonely 
I should feel ! My old life was to come again. 

It was the 18th of January, 1864. I remember well 
the day, for I left the shore with Captain Yardon to go 
on board the Mentor, which was to sail that day for Lon- 
don. 

Captain Vardon and I did not talk much — our hearts 
were too full; but the good captain kept repeating to 
me, " My dear good friend, I do not like to leave you in 
this wild part of the world all alone ; who will take care 
of you when you are sick ?" 

" Captain," I said, " God will take care of me." 

Soon after we reached the vessel the anchor was 
weighed, the sails were shaken out, the jibs were set, 
and the schooner began to make a little headway. 



DEPARTURE OF THE MENTOR. 53 

I was loth to part with the dear little schooner Mentor, 
for I knew I should never see it again, and perhaps I 
should never see good Captain Vardon again. 

When the moment of parting arrived, my negroes 
stood ready to receive me in their canoe alongside. I 
took Captain Vardon by the hand for a little time ; we 
looked each other in the face without saying a word ; 
our eyes were big — a little more, and tears would have 
rolled from them. I went over the vessel's side. Captain 
Vardon still holding my hand, and began to descend the 
stairs into the canoe, when the captain was obliged to let 
my hand go. In a minute I was in the canoe ; the ca- 
noe and the vessel parted company, and the distance be- 
tween them began rapidly to widen. My men gave three 
cheers for the Mentor ; the sailors responded, all stand- 
ing by the bulwarks looking at me. 

Captain T^ardon had on board with him as passengers 
two chinipranzees, Thomas, and his wife Mrs. Thomas. 
Thomas was, I judge, about three years old, and Mrs. 
Thomas might have been a year old. Mr. Thomas was 
a tricky little rascal, and I had any amount of fun with 
him. He was very tame, like all the young chimpanzees. 

Thomas's capture was attended with adventures. He 
was with his mother in the woods ; the mother was killed, 
and Thomas was seized and brought to the village two 
days after. Before he was tamed he escaped into the for- 
est. The dogs were sent after him, and he was speedily 
retaken, but not without his having bitten the dogs and 
been severely bitten by them in return. Several of his 
fingers were broken, and upon knitting together they left 
his hand in a distorted condition. 

I was compelled to keep Master Tom tied, for after 



54 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

he was quite tame he became very troublesome, and 
would go into my hut and disturb every thing. He 
would upset the plates, break the glasses, and when he 
saw the mischief he had done he would run off, and that 
was the last seen of him for the day. So I tied him by 
a cord to a pole under the veranda of my hut, and at the 
foot of the pole I built a little house, into which he could 
retire when he pleased. Every day it was filled with fresh 
straw from the prairie, and he enjoyed it very much, and 
loved to sleep on it. 

Every thing I ate Tom would'eat ; every thing I drank 
Tom would drink ; tea, coffee, lemonade were drinks he 
liked very much. He would eat fish, crocodile, turtle, 
elephant, hippopotamus, chicken, bananas, plantains, bis- 
cuit, etc., etc. 

Among the pets I had with me was a cat. One day 
the cat came near Tom's pole, when suddenly Master 
Tom, who had never seen a cat, flew in alarm to his pole, 
and clambered up it, the hair on his body becoming erect, 
and his eyes glaring with excitement. He really looked 
like a porcupine-chimpanzee, such as I had never seen 
before. 

In a moment, recovering himself, he came down, and, 
rushing to the cat before pussy had time to run away, 
with one of his feet-like hands he seized the nap of the 
animal, and with the other pressed on its back, as if try- 
ing to break its neck or spine. He was jerking the poor 
cat as hard as he could when I came to the rescue — ^just 
in time, for I am sure, if the struggle had lasted two or 
three minutes more, the cat would have been killed. 
The poor cat could not turn its head and bite, nor use its 
paws for scratching, and was, indeed, utterly helpless. 



MR. AND MRS. THOMAS CHIMPANZEE. 55 

The big chimpanzees and the gorillas are said to fight 
the formidable leopard in that, manner. - It must be a 
grand sight to see such an encounter. 

One day, while hunting, my dogs captured another 
young chimpanzee, which I gave to Master Tom for a 
wife. He seemed exceedingly fond of her, and would 
spend the greater part of his time in embracing her. 
Their married life appeared one of unalloyed happiness. 
Unfortunately, Mrs. Thomas was never very strong, and 
she died of consumption on the passage, to the great sor- 
row of Mr. Thomas, who felt very sad for a good many 
days after her death. 

I am happy to say that Mr. Thomas reached London 
in very good health, in the beginning of the year 1864, 
and was presented in my name to the Crystal Palace at 
Sydenham, near London, by Captain Yardon. 

There he received a complete education ; a nice place 
was builtTPor him in the conservatory, where the exotic 
plants grew well, and there, for the sum of sixpence, he 
would sell his photograph to any one who chose to buy 
it. His principle was, money first, carte de visite after- 
ward ; and if, perchance, any visitor took off his carte de 
visite without paying for it, he would rush forward, 
screaming, to the length of his tether, to prevent this ir- 
regular transaction, and would not cease his noisy ex- 
pressions till the money was paid down. Then he would 
give a low grunt in sign of satisfaction. 

Thomas thrived well there, and there was a prospect 
of his living many years ; but he met with an untimely 
end when the Crystal Palace burnt. The poor fellow 
met his death in the fiames, but not before giving the 
most fearful screams of despair, which were anavailing, 

since no one could reach him. 

. C9< 



5Q THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

. The breeze was stiff, and carried the Mentor swiftly 
away from the shore as we paddled toward the breakers, 
I turned my head back now and then to have a look at 
the dear little schooner. 

We passed safely through the breakers, and after land- 
ing I seated myself to look for the last time at the ves- 
sel as she glided away ; fainter and fainter became the 
sails, till finally I could see nothing/but the horizon. 

I tore myself from the shore. How sad I was that 
evening ! " How long," thought I, " shall I have to wait 
for a vessel to come to me ? Oh dear, I hope the Messrs. 
Baring will send me one, with scientific instruments; 
then I shall start on that long journey to the Nile, from 
which, perhaps, I shall never come back. Never mind," 
said I, " friend Paul, try your best. If you do not suc- 
ceed, it is no disgrace." 

I lay down to sleep sad and dejected indeed. That 
night I dreamed of my departed mother and father. I 
dreamed of dear friends — of girls and boys, the compan- 
ions of my school-days, that were no more — of days when 
I was happy and without a care. That dream was so 
pleasurable that it awoke me. As my eyes opened, the 
walls of bamboo, the queer bed, told me that I was in a 
wild country. I got up feeling feverish and sick at 
heart in my loneliness, to which I was not yet accus- 
tomed. 

That day I said to myself, " Paul, several weary months 
will pass away before a vessel can come for yon, so take 
courage, go hunting, visit the country round, and do the 
best you can to while away the time. Keep up your 
spirits ; faint heart has never yet succeeded ;" and toward 
evening I felt more cheerful, and chatted with my Com- 



DEPARTURE FROM PL A TEA U. 57 

mi men, and afterward said to myself^ " How grateful I 
ought to be that I can feel so safe in such a wild coun- 
try ; that I have so many friends among the natives ; and 
that there is not a man of them all who would dare to 
rob me ! Surely/' I reflected, " there is not a civilized 
country where I could be as safe ; the robbers of civili- 
zation would break through these thin walls, and steal 
every thing I have." The next day I put into practice 
the resolution I had formed, and made preparations for 
a journey. I wanted to visit many Commi villages. 

My premises were filled with goods under the care of 
the Commi. " Be without fear," said good old Eanpano ; 
" every thing will be safe when you come "back. Ma- 
longa, my brother, will take care of your premises as 
did Rikimongani." So I set out and advanced toward 
Cape St. Catharine, for I intended to make a visit' first to 
my old friend King Olenga-Yombi, with whom you have 
become acquainted in one of my preceding volumes. 

It was a fine evening when we left Plateau. We 
were now in the height of the rainy season, and it was 
so hot in the day that I thought we might sail more com- 
fortably on the river at night. We were pretty sure to 
get a ducking, but I thought it was better to get wet than 
to have the rays of a tropical sun pouring down on our 
heads. Malonga (Eanpano's brother) and my men had 
been busy making mondas to keep the rain off, and as 
we left the shore old Malonga said we should have clear 
weather. In this country, unlike South Africa, the doc- 
tors are unmakers, and not makers of rain. 

The evening, indeed, was fine, and I began to think 
that Malonga, after all, might be right ; the moon shone 
in an almost cloudless sky ; but after the setting of the 



5 8 THE CO JJNTB Y OF THE D WARES. 

moon at 10 o'clock, a thick black cloud rose in the north- 
east, and we began to feel not so sure about a dry night. 
I was watching all the time anxiously in that northeast- 
ern direction, for I was afraid a tornado was coming. We 
were in the season of the tornadoes, and a constant look- 
out had to be kept, for it would never have done to have 
been caught napping. The flashes of lightning became 
more and more vivid as we skirted the river bank, pad- 
dling as fast as we could, and looking for a quiet little 
nook ; and we were getting near one, when suddenly a 
white patch shone under the black mass in the heavens. 
In an instant that black mass overspread the sky; the 
part which a little before was blue had become black 
and lurid ; the clouds drove from the northeast with fear- 
ful rapidity, and all above seemed to be in a blaze with 
lightning; the thunder pealed incessantly, and the rain 
poured down, as it were, by bucketsf ul. Our canoes were 
driven ashore by the force of the terrific wind, and we 
immediately hauled them out of water, although it was 
pitch dark, and we could only see each other by the glare 
of the lightning. Near by was a little village composed 
of a few huts, and we made for it, but found only a few 
women, and not wood enough for a fire, in consequence 
of which I had to remain all night wet to the skin. 

The next morning the sky was clear and the sun 
rose beautifully, and soon after sunrise you could have 
heard the paddlers sing merry songs of the Commi. We 
' ascended the river till we came to the island of Nengue 
Shika. l^engue, as you know, means an island; you 
may perhaps remember Nengue Ngozo. Shika means 
white, silverlike. After paddling along the shore of 
Nengue Shika, which was covered with palm-trees, we 



TRACES OF GORILLAS. 59 

made for the main land, toward the banks of a little 
creek over which swallows were flying. It was a sweet 
spot, of prairie and luxuriant wood. There a shed had 
been built for me by our old friend King Olenga-Yombi, 
and many of his slaves were waiting for me with a goat, 
a few fowls, several bunches of bananas and plantains. 
The king had sent these provisions and his best wishes 
for good luck in my hunts, and a message that I must 
come and see him when I was tired of the woods. 

Not far from our camp there were several " ivolos" — 
wooded bogs ; there the vegetation was very rank, and 
these bogs were known to be the haunts of the gorilla. 
That day we rested in camp, and the next morning we 
started with two native dogs for the ivolos. It was very 
hard work ; we had to struggle through the thorny and 
swampy thickets for a long time, and now and then we 
would sink knee-deep in the mud. My followers were 
slaves of King Olenga-Yombi. Hark! hark! I hear a 
noise as if some one was breaking the branches of trees. 
I gave a cluck ; I looked at the men behind. This noise 
was made by gorillas. Silence. My gun is ready; I 
advance, but it is all I can do to keep the dogs in check. 
The creatures of the woods were tearing down branches 
to pick off the berries. Unfortunately, one of the dogs 
broke from us. I heard a shriek — a sharp cry ; the go- 
rillas fled ; they w^ere females, but the men assured me 
the males could not be far off. This was, beyond all 
doubt, the spot for gorillas. I could see many of their 
footmarks on the soft mud ; their heels were well mark- 
ed, but their toes were hardly seen. Where they had 
been on all-fours I could see the marks of their knuckles. 

But that day I could not come in sight of gorillas. 



eo THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

The following day I hunted near the sea-shore, from 
which I then concluded to go to Ainembie to see Olen- 
ga-Yombi. 

On our way we passed by an island of trees growing 
in the midst of the prairie. That island is called " JSTen- 
gue Ncoma." The people are afraid of JSTengue Ncoma, 
and at night nobody would dare to pass by it; and, 
though we were far away, my men looked at it with su- 
perstitious dread, and quickened their steps. " Oh," said 
one of my guides, " whoever enters this island is likely 
to die suddenly in it; if he does not die he becomes 
crazy, and roams about till he dies. There is a woman 
that we see now and then, crazy and wandering all over 
it. In this island of Nengue Ncoma lives a crocodile, 
whose scales are of brass, that never leaves the island ; 
he lives in the centre of it ; no gun can kill that croco- 
dile." 

" It is a lie !" I shouted ; " how foolish, you are, my 
boys, to believe such things ! To show you that it is a 
lie, I will enter that island of Nengue l^coma," and I 
rushed, gun in hand, toward the island. A wild shriek 
came from the men. They shouted, " Oh, Chally, do not 
go." They did not dare to follow me. A little while 
after I touched the branches of the trees of Nengue 
Ncoma, but before I entered I turned back and looked 
toward the men, and as I looked at them I saw them 
mute with astonishment ; and as I turned my back and 
entered the wood, terrific cries rent the air. They thought 
it was the last they should see of me. Surely the croco- 
dile with brass scales would kill me, who dared to go 
into that island of which he was the king and sole inhab- 
itant. 



A TIPSY KING. 61 

I walked on and explored every part of this small isl- 
and of trees. I need not say that I did not meet with 
the crocodile. When I came out a wild shout greeted 
me ; it was from my men, who were still at the same 
place where I had left them. I came toward them smi- 
ling and saying, " Do you think I am crazy ? I tell you 
I have not seen that crocodile with scales of brass. I 
looked every where, and I saw nothing but trees." They 
all shouted/' Tou are a mbuiti" — a spirit. 

We continued our way till we came to Amembie. 
Poor King Olenga-Yombi was drunk as usual ; he was 
so tipsy, indeed, that he could not stand on his legs. 
Nevertheless, he welcomed his friend Chally, and said 
all his country belonged to me, and in joy he ordered 
another calabash full of palm wine to be brought to him, 
and drank off about half a gallon of it at once. This 
finished 4iim up for the day; he fell back in the arms 
of his wives, shouting many times over, "I am a big 
king ! I am a big king ! I am Olenga-Yombi !" and was 
soon asleep. Poor Olenga-Yombi, he is an inveterate 
drunkard ; not a day passes by that he is not tipsy. 

The next morning I started for a large plantation of 
the king's before he was awake. The name of that 
plantation was " Nkongon-Boumba." There I found a 
large number of the king's slaves, and among them were 
a great many good hunters. These slaves knew me ; they 
knew that I was their master's great friend ; they knew 
I was theirs also, and that I had a good stock of beads 
for them and their wives. The head slave of the king, 
anishogo man called Ayombo, welcomed me, and brought 
me food. 

I said to them, " Friends, I have come to live with you," 



62 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

They shouted " Yo ! yo ! yo !" " I want to hunt, and kill 
an ipi." " Yo ! yo ! yo ! You shall kill an ipi/' they 
shouted. "I want to kill gorillas and chimpanzees." 
" Yo ! yo ! yo ! You shall kill gorillas and chimpanzees." 
"But, above all, I want to kill an ipi. My heart will go 
away sad if I do not kill an ipi." " Yo ! yo ! yo ! You 
shall kill an ipi. We know where some are. Yo ! yo ! 
yo ! You shall see an ipi." 

You ask yourself what an ipi is. The ipi was an un- 
known animal. How did I come to know that such an 
animal existed ? One day I saw a monda to which was 
suspended a large and thick yellow scale, such as I had 
never seen before. The pangolin had scales, but they 
were much smaller. There was no doubt that this scale 
belonged to the pangolin family, only I learned that the 
animal from which it was taken was of a larger variety. 

The ipi, I was told, was very rare. Years had passed 
away, and no ipi had been seen by me ; but some time 
ago King Olenga-Yombi had sent me word that an ipi 
had been near his plantation of Nkongon-Boumba, and 
I had come specially to hunt the ipi. 

Many of the king's slaves had come from far-away 
tribes, and queer and ugly fellows they were, with lean 
legs, prominent abdomens, retreating foreheads, and pro- 
jecting mouths. 

The day of my arrival we rested. The good slaves 
and their kind wives brought fowls, plantains, pea-nuts, 
sugar-cane, some pine-apples, little lemons, wild honey, 
dried fish — in fact, they brought to me the best things 
they had. I gave them nice beads, and to some of the 
leading slaves I gave red caps. 

That night there was dancing. The idol or mbuiti 



STARTING OUT FOR A HUNT, 



63 



was consulted as to the results of the chase^ for these 
interior people are very superstitious. They sang songs 
welcoming me. 

The next morning a few of the leading slaves and my- 
self started for an ipi hunt. 




CHAPTEE YI. 

HUNTING FOE THE IPI. CAMPING OUT IN THE WOODS. 

CAPTUKE. OF AN IPI. — DESCEIPTION OF THE ANIMAL. A 

NEW SPECIES OF ANT-EATEE. 

We left the plantation at daybreak. Mayombo, the 
head slave, was the leader, and some of his children were 
with us. "We all had guns ; the boys carried, besides, two 
axes. In a little while we were in the forest. It was 
an awful day's hunt, and the first time since my return 
that I had to rough it in such a manner. We wandered 
over hills and dales, through the woods and the streams, 
now and then crossing a bog, leaving the hunting-paths, 
struggling for hours through the tangled maze and 
through patches of the wild pine-apple, which tore my 
clothes to rags and covered my poor body with scratches. 
The thorns and cutting edges of sword-like grass which 
grew in many places, and the sharp points of the pine- 
apple leaves, were not very pleasant things to get among. 
It was like the good old time, but I did not fancy the 
good old time. I was not yet inured to such tramps ; I 
had forgotten all about them, but I knew that it was 
nothing but child's play when compared with the hard- 
ships I had suffered in my former explorations, or with 
what I expected to undergo in the future. I knew that 
I was hardening myself for what was coming by-and-by, 
and that it was necessary that I should go through such 



CAMPING OUT IN THE WOODS. 65 

a schooling before starting for that long Nile journey 
from which I knew not if I should ever come back. I 
must get accustomed to sickness^ to hunger, to privations 
of all kinds, to forced marches ; I must be afraid of noth- 
ing, and trust in God for the result. 

The end of the day was approaching ; the birds gave 
forth their last songs, calling their mates, so that they 
might not be far apart for the night ; the butterflies had 
ceased to fly, and were hiding themselves uncJ^r the large 
leaves to keep away from the rains. 

We had not been successful, but did not despair. We 
were to sleep in the woods, for the plantation was too 
far away. Oh, I was so tired. Mayombo immediately 
went off to cut some poles to support the large leaves 
which were to protect us from the rains, while his two 
sons collected as fast as they could the leaves, and I 
looked after fire-wood. I soon came to a spot where the 
dead branches lay thick on the ground, and I shouted,. 
" Come here, boys !" A little after sunset our camp was 
built and our fires were lighted ; then the boys pulled 
from their bags several plantains and a little parcel of 
dried fish packed in leaves. Not far from our camp a 
little rivulet ran meandering toward the sea ; its water 
was clear and cool, so we had chosen a nice spot for the 
bivouac ; but fires were to be kept burning brightly all 
night, " for," said Mayombo, " leopards are very plentiful 
here ; we can not keep our goats ; and two men have been 
missing within a month." After that exhortation, Ma- 
yombo, who was a great smoker, filled his pipe and lay 
down by the fire. In the mean time my supper had 
been cooked, but I was too tired to enjoy it, and I was 
too tired even to sleep. 



66 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

The next evening we returned to the plantation, where 
all were glad to see lis. After a day of rest we started 
again, for Mayombo swore that I should not rest till I 
had an ipi. We went in another direction, and Mayom- 
bo again took his two sons witli him. Toward noon 
Mayombo gave a cluck, and pointed out to me a dead 
tree lying on the ground, and a strange-looking track 
leading up to it, and whispered into my ears the word 
"IpiP 

That dead tree had been lying there, I suppose, for 
hundreds of years ; nothing remained of it but the trunk, 
which was hollow throughout, and looked like a tube fif- 
ty or sixty feet long. 

I examined the ground carefully at one end of the 
trunk, and saw no footprint there, so the animal had not 
gone out ; at the other end the tracks were fresh, and it 
was evident that the animal had hidden inside the night 
before. I said to Mayombo, " Perhaps the ipi has gone 
away." " Oh no," said he ; " don't you see there is only 
one track ? Besides, it could not turn on itself, and, in 
order to get out, it has to go straight on to the other end." 

Immediately he took the axe and cut down some 
branches of a tree, of which he made a trap to catch 
the animal if it should come out. The branch was put 
firmly in the ground, and the top was bent over with a 
creeper attached to it, at the end of which was a ring, 
through which the animal would have to pass before he 
could get out ; a little forked stick held the ring, which 
the animal would shake as it passed through ; the limb 
would fly up instantly, and high in the air would the ipi 
dangle. ; 

When all this had been done, Mayombo, who had col- 



CAPTURE OF AN IPL 6 9 

lected wood at the other end, set fire to it, to smoke the 
animal out. He was not mistaken ; the ipi was inside, 
and it made for the opposite extremity and was caught. 
There was a short struggle, but we ran up and ended it 
by knocking the ipi with all our might on the head. 

I saw at once that the ipi belonged to the pangolin 
genus {Manis of the zoologists), which is a very singular 
kind of animal. They are ant-eaters, like the Myrmeco- 
phaga of South America; but, while the South American 
ant-eater is covered with hair like other mammalia, the 
pangolins have an armor of large scales implanted in the 
skin of the upper surface of the body, from the head to 
the tip of the tail, each scale overlapping the other like 
the slates on the roof of a house. 

Like the ant-eater of South America, the pangolins 
have no teeth, but they have a long extensile tongue, the 
extremity qf which is covered with a glutinous secretion 
so sticky^at their prey, after having been touched, ad- 
heres to the tongue and can not get away. The tongue 
of an ipi may be extended out several inches. The ipi 
feeds on ants. 

During the day the ipi hides itself in its burrow in 
the earth, or sometimes in the large hollows of colossal 
trunks of trees which have fallen to the ground, like the 
tree just described to you ; but they generally prefer to 
burrow in the soil, and these burrows are usually found 
in light soil on the slope of a hill. By the singular 
structure of the ipi, it can nat turn to the right or to the 
left al once ; in fact, it is quite incapable of bending its 
body sideways, so it can not " right about face" in its 
burrow. Accordingly, there are two holes in each bur- 
row, one for entrance and one for exit. 



70 THE COUNTMY OF THE DWARFS. 

But if the ipi and the pangolin can not bend their 
bodies sideways^ they are very flexible vertically, their 
stomachs having no scales ; so, if they are surprised or 
want to sleep, they roll themselves in a ball, the head be- 
ing inside and forming the centre, and they coil and un- 
coil themselves in this manner very readily. 

The only way you can find the ipi or the pangolin is 
by the trail they leave on the soil, and following them 
till you reach their burrows. 

The great trouble in finding the ipi is not only that 
the animal is very scarce, but that it never comes out 
except at night, when the rattle it makes among the 
dead leaves is great. The jstrange creature must see well 
with its queer little eyes to be able to perceive the ants 
upon which it mostly feeds, and it must take time in sat- 
isfying its appetite, for a great many little ants must be 
required to fill its stomach. When the ipi has found a 
spot where the ants it wants to eat are plentiful, it stops 
by them, and with its long tongue, which protrudes sev- 
eral inches, catches them one by one. When an ant is 
caught the tongue goes in again. I wonder how many 
hundreds of times the tongue must come out and go in 
with an ant before the hunger of the ipi is satisfied ! 

I was not mistaken ; this ipi was a new species, and 
the scientific name is Pholidotus Africanus. This large 
one was a female, and measured four feet six inches from 
the head to the tip of the tail. It was very stout and 
heavy, the tail very short in comparison with its body, 
and the scales very thick, and of a yellow or tawny color. 
The males are said to be much larger, and, according to 
what the negroes say, must reach the length of six feet. 
They are very ugly to look at. Their tail, being very 



AN IPI BREAKFAST. 7 1 

thick, makes a large trail on the ground as they move 
about. 

Though in some respects they may be thought to re- 
semble the lizard, the pangolins have warm blood, and 
nourish their young like the rest of the mammalia. 

I need not tell you that I was glad to discover this 
new species. After securing the ipi we returned at once 
to the plantation, and as soon as 1 arrived I went to work 
and took off its skin, and hard work it was, I assure you, 
the scales were so thick and big 

When we came into the village with the ipi there was 
great excitement, for the animal is so rare that but two 
or three persons there had ever seen a specimen. 

I went to bed happy, feeling that I had had the good 
fortune of discovering a new and most remarkable ani- 
mal, which God had long ago created, but which had 
never before been seen by the white man. 

Of course I had a curiosity to see how the ipi tasted, 
and I had some for breakfast the next morning, and it 
was good, but not fat, though the natives said that at cei« 
tain seasons they are very fat. 




D 



CHAPTEE VII. 

LIFE AT NKONGON-BOUMBA. — GORILLAS AND PLANTAINS. 

ODANGA SCARED BY A GORILLA. A CAPTIVE GORILLA. 

SUPERSTITIONS RESPECTING THE LEOPARD. 

The dry season had now fairly begun. We were in 
the month of June, and the nights and evenings were 
quite pleasant. The days were generally cloudy, and it 
was a good time of the year for hunting, as most of the 
bog-land was drying fast. 

Nkongon-Boumba was situated in a charming spot 
on the summit of a gentle hill, at the foot of which ran 
a little stream of clear water. The country which sur- 
rounded it was partly prairie and partly wooded ; the 
soil on the prairie was sandy, but where the woods grew 
the soil was better. In many places the primitive growth 
had been cut down, and there the fine plantation of plan- 
tain-trees and bananas of King Olenga-Yombi were flour- 
ishing well. 

How beautiful the country looked in the morning just 
before sunrise, when a veil of mist seemed to hang over 
it, and when the dew was still thick on the blades of 
grass, or was dropping fast from the plantain-leaves ! I 
would get up just at daylight, and would start with my 
gun on my shoulder, in the hope that I might see a ga- 
zelle or an antelope feeding. 



GORILLAS AND PLANTAINS. 73 

Gorillas were very plentiful near Nkongon-Boumba, 
and were committing great depredations among the plan- 
tain and banana trees ; tlie patches of sugar-cane were 
also very much devastated. I heard one afternoon that 
the day before gorillas were in the forest not far from 
the village^ and had already begun to play sad havoc 
with the plantain-trees. 

The morning after the news, if you had been in the 
village, you would have seen me, just a little before day- 
break, getting ready to go after the gorillas. I was paint- 
ing my face and hands with a mixture of powdered char- 
coal and oil. After my toilet was done, I put on my old, 
soiled Panama hat, took one of my best guns, called 
Odanga, one of my boys, to accompany me, and started 
off. There was just daylight enough for us to see our 
way, and in a short time we came to a plantation, sur- 
rounded by virgin forest, covered with plantain and ba- 
nana trees, most of which were bearing fruit in different 
stages of growth. This plantation had just been made 
on the skirt of the forest. 

It was a lovely morning; the sky was almost cloudless ; 
every thing was still, and one could only hear the slight 
rustling of the tree-tops moved by the gentle land breeze. 
Before reaching the grove of plantain-trees I had to pick 
my way through a maze of tree-stumps, half -burnt logs, 
and dead, broken, and half -burnt limbs of trees, where 
the land had beei\ prepared for a new plantation. If 
gorillas are to be seen in a plantation near a village they 
most generally come in the early morning. 

By the side of the plan tain- trees was a field of cassada, 
and just as I was going by it I heard suddenly in the 
plantain-grove a great crashing noise like the breaking 



74 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

of limbs. What could this be ? I immediately hid my- 
self behind a bush, and then looked in the direction from 
which the sound proceeded. AYhat do I see ? A gorilla, 
then a second gorilla, and a third one, coming out of a 
thick bush; then another one made his appearance — 
there were four altogether. Then I discovered that one 
of the females had a baby gorilla following her. 
' So do not be astonished when I tell you that my eyes 
were wide open, and that I gazed on the scene before me 
with intense excitement. These gorillas looked so droll, 
walking in the most absurd way on all fours, and now 
and then walking erect. How impish the creatures 
seemed ! how intensely black their faces were ! how hid- 
eous their features ! They looked like men, but like wild 
men with shaggy hides, and their big, protuberant abdo- 
mens did not make them less ridiculous or repulsive. 

The gorillas went immediately at their work of de- 
struction. I did not stop them, but merely looked on. 
Plantain-tree after plantain-tree came down ; it seemed 
to me that they were trying to see which could bring 
down the greatest number of trees in the shortest space 
of time. They were amusing themselves, I suppose. In 
destroying a tree, they first grasped the base of the stem 
with one of their powerful hand-like feet, and then with 
their prodigious long arms pulled it down. This, of 
course, did not require much strength with so light a 
stem -as that of the plantain Then they would set their 
big mouths upon the juicy heart of the tree, and devour 
it with great avidity ; at another time they would give 
one bite, or would simply demolish the tree without eat- 
ing it. 

How strange sounded the chuckle they gave as if to 



OFF WITH ODANGA, 75 

express their contentment ! Now and then they would 
sit still and look around — and such a look ! Two or three 
times they looked in the direction where I was ; but I lay 
so quiet, and was so concealed, they could not see me, 
and, as the wind was blowing from them to me, they 
could not smell me. How fiendish their look was ! A 
cold shiver ran through me several times, for, of all the 
malignant expressions I had ever seen, theirs were the 
most diabolical. Two or three times they seemed to be 
on the point of running away, and appeared alarmed, but 
recovered their composure, and began anew the work of 
destruction. 

The little baby gorilla followed his mother wherever 
she went. Gradually, without my taking notice of it, 
they came to the edge of the dark forest, and all at onci^ 
disappeared like a vision — like a dream. I went to look 
at the spot where they had made such havoc, and count- 
ed over one hundred plantain-trees down on the ground, 
which they had destroyed. 

The next morning I went again with Odanga to the 
same spot, with no expectation of seeing gorillas again, 
for I did not think they would make another visit there 
with their roving propensities, but I thought I might see 
an antelope or two, attracted by the young leaves of the 
cassada-tree, of which they are very fond. I carried a 
light double-barreled shot-gun, while Odanga carried my 
heavy double-barreled rifle, to use in case we should see 
an elephant. 

The part of the plantation upon which we had come 
extended over two hills, with a deep hollow between 
planted with sugar-cane. I was taking the lead in the 
narrow path, and just as I was going down the hill to 



76 TEE COUNTBY OF THE DWARFS. 

get over to the other side of the hollow, my ej^es sud- 
denly fell upon a monstrous gray-haired male gorilla 
standing erect and looking directly toward me. I really 
did not know if he was looking at me or at something 
else, or if he thought of crossing to my side, in which, 
case he would have come toward me. Without turning 
my head (for I did not dare to lose sight of the gorilla), 
I beckoned Odanga to come toward me, so that I might 
get hold of my rifle and shoot down the huge monster. 
I beckoned in vain. I made a quicker motion with my 
hand for Odanga to come, but no Odanga was coming. 
The huge beast stared at me, or at least seemed to stare 
at me, for two minutes, and then, without uttering any 
roar, moved off into the great forest on all fours. Then 
I looked round to see what was the matter with my boy 
Odanga, but no Odanga was to be seen ; I was all alone. 
The fellow had bolted, gun and all; the gorilla had 
frightened him, and he had fled. I was furiously angry, 
and promised myself to give friend Odanga such a pun- 
ishment as he would not soon forget, that he might not 
play me such a trick a second time. 

Odanga had fled to the plantation, and a little after 
what I have just related I heard a good many voices. 
They were the plantation people, all armed to the teeth, 
coming to my rescue ; but Odanga had taken good care 
to remain out of the way, though he had sent the gun. 
The little scamp knew very well what was coming, but 
when I went back he was not to be seen, and the fellow 
hid himself for two days. When at last I got hold of 
him he made me the most solemn promise never to do 
such a thing again, -and said, " Chally, Abamboo (the 
devil) must have made me leave you." 



A CAPTIVE GOMILLA. 77 

On my return from Nkongon-Boumba a great sur- 
prise awaited me— a live gorilla. An old chief, a friend 
of mine, named Akondogo, had just returned from the 
Ngobi country, situated south of Cape St. Catharine, and 
there, with some slaves of Olenga -Yombi, he had killed 
the mother, and captured ih^ rascal before me. He was 
bigger than any gorilla I had captured, or that had ever 
been taken alive. Bigger he was than Fighting Joe, 
which many of you no doubt remember. 

Like Joe, this fellow showed the most ungovernable 
temper, and to bite somebody seemed to be the object 
he was always aiming at. We had no chain with which 
to confine him, so that a long forked stick round his neck 
was the only means we could employ of keeping him at 
a safe distance. 

In the evening, as Akondogo and I were seated togeth- 
er, the good fellow, smoking his huge pipe, said to me, 
'' Challyyd have had a great deal of trouble since I have 
seen you. A leopard has killed two of my people, and 
I have had a great many palavers with their families on 
account of their death." 

I said, " Akondogo, you could not help it ; you are not 
chief over the leopards. But, after the first man had 
been killed, why did you not make a trap to catch the 
leopard ?'' 

" The leopard I mean," said he, " is not one that can be 
trapped ; it was a man who had changed himself into a 
leopard, and then, after he had been a leopard for some 
time, he changed himself into a man again." 

I said, "Akondogo, why do you talk to me m that 
way ? You know I do not believe that men are turned 
into beasts, and afterward into men again. . It is stupid 



V8 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

for people to believe so, but I can not shake that belief 
in you alomb^'' (black men). 

Poor Akondogo said, " Chally, I assure you that there 
are men who change into leopards, and from leopards 
into men again." 

Not wishing to argue the question, I said, " Never 
mind ; tell me the story of your trouble." Then Akon- 
dogo once more filled his pipe with tobacco, gave three 
or four big puffs of smoke, which rose high in the air, 
and thus begun : 

" My people and myself had been in the woods several 
daj^s collecting India-rubber. One day a man disap- 
peared, and nothing could be found of him but a pool 
of blood. The next day another man disappeared, and 
in searching for him more blood was found. We all got 
alarmed, and I sent for a great doctor; he came and 
drank the mboundou, so that he might be able to say 
how these two deaths came about. After the ouganga 
(doctor) had drank the mboundou, and as all the people 
stood round him asking him what had killed these two 
men, and just as we were waiting with breathless silence 
for what he was going to say, he spoke to me and said, 
'Akondogo, your own child [his nephew and heir] Ako- 
sho killed the two men.' Immediately Akosho was sent 
for and seized, and he answered that it was true that he 
had killed the two men, but that he could not help it ; he 
remembered well that that day, as he was walking in 
the woods, he suddenly became a leopard ; that his heart 
longed for blood, and that he had killed the two men, 
and then, after each murder, he became a man again. 

" There was a great uproar in the village ; the people 
shouted, ' Death to the aniemba Akosho V 



SUPEMSTITION RESPECTING THE LEOPABD. 'jg 

" But/' said Akondogo, " I loved my boy so much that 
I said to the people, ' Let us not believe Akosho ; he must 
have become a kende' (idiot, fool). But Akosho kept 
saying he. had killed the men, and took us into the woods 
v^here lay the two bodies, one with the head cut off, and 
the other with the belly torn open. 

" Upon this," said Akondogo, "' I ordered Akosho to be 
bound with cords, and tied in a horizontal position to a 
post, and to have a fire lighted at his feet, and be burned 
slowly to death, all which was done, the people standing 
by until he expired." 

The end of the story was so horrid that I shuddered. 
It was a case of monomania. Akosho believed that he 
had been turned into a leopard, and committed two mur- 
ders, the penalty of which he paid with his life. Here, 
in our country, he would have been sent to the insane 
asylum. , 




D 2 



CHAPTER VIII. 

WOUNDED GORILLA AND HER YOUNO ONES. TAKING THEIR 

PHOTOGRAPHS. TOM AND MINNIE. ARRIVAL OF MY VES- 
SEL. HURRA FOR BARING BROTHERS.- — A SMOKING SHIP. 

—KING QUENGUEZA GOES ON BOARD. PREPARATIONS FOR 

JOURNEY. 

A FEW days after my return home, one evening a 
strange sight presented itself in front of my house — a 
sight which I firmly believe had never before been wit- 
nessed since the world began. There was great commo- 
tion and tremendous excitement among the Commi peo- 
ple. 

There stood in front of my bamboo house a large fe- 
male gorilla, bound hand and foot, and alive, but fright- 
fully wounded. A large gash might have been seen on 
her scalp, and her body was covered with clotted blood. 
One of her arms had been broken, and she bore wounds 
upon the head and chest. Now and then the creature 
would give a sharp scream of pain, which lent horror to 
the darkness by which we were surrounded, the half doz- 
en lighted torches making the scene still more wild. 

This adult female gorilla had been mortally wounded 
in the morning, and lay on the ground senseless for a 
long time. A bullet from one of my hunters had frac- 
tured her skull, and in that state of insensibility she had 



CAPTIVE GORILLAS, 81 

been securely tied to a stout stick, and in such an ingen- 
ious manner that there was no chance of her escaping. 
Her wrists and ankles had been tied strongly together, 
while the stick had been adjusted betw^een her mouth 
and feet and hands in such a way that she could not 
reach out to sever the cords with her teeth. 

Hanging from her bosom was a baby gorilla (her child). 
The httle creatin^e was a female but a few months old, 
and now and then, after feeding from its mother's breast, 
it would give a plaintive wail. By the side of both stood 
a young live male gorilla, a fierce-looking fellow, which 
seemed afraid of nothing, and looked around with its 
deep grayish, fiendish eyes as if to say, " What does all 
this mean ? I have not seen this sight in the woods be- 
fore." Not far off lay the corpse of a large female go- 
rilla, quiet in the embrace of death, her face yet distort- 
ed by the death-agony. 

It ^ras dark, as I have told you, and fhe scene was so 
strange and so wild that I will never forget it. The 
fiendish countenances of the living calibanish trio, one of 
them — the wounded one — with a face distorted by pain, 
were lit up by the ruddy glare of the native's torches, and 
they seemed even more repulsive than their dead com- 
panion. "What a commotion this sight would create," 
I said to myself, " in a civilized land !" 

There was no sleep for me that night; the terrific 
screams of the wounded mother kept me awake. Two 
or three times I got up and went out to see what was the 
matter, for I was in constant dread of the big gorilla's 
untying the cords. 

The next morning I immediately prepared my photo- 
graphic apparatus, and took an excellent photograph of 



82 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

the wounded mother with her child on her lap. As for 
Master Tom (I gave that name to the fierce-looking young 
male), I could not succeed in taking a very good likeness 
of him ; he would not keep still long enough. I untied 
his hands and feet after putting a chain round his neck, 
and to show his gratitude he immediately made a rush 
at me to the length of his chain, screaming with all his 
might. Happily, the chain was too short for him to 
reach me, or I should have come off minus a little piece 
of the calf of m}^ leg. 

The night after I had taken the photograph of the 
mother her meanings were more frequent, and in the 
morning they gradually became weaker as her life ebbed 
out, and about ten o'clock she died. Her death was pain- 
fully like that of a human being, and her child clung to 
her to the last, and even tried to obtain milk after she 
was dead. How still was that fierce, scowling black 
face ! There was something so vindictive in it, and at 
the same time so human, that I almost shrunk from the 
§ight as I contemplated that wonderful creature which 
God has made almost in the image of man. 

Now all I had to do was to take care of Tom and of 
Minnie. Tom gave me no trouble, for he was quite old 
enough to feed upon the nuts and the berries that were 
gathered for him ; but with little Minnie it was a differ- 
ent thing, as she was too young to eat berries. Happily, 
I had a goat that gave milk, and I fed her on that milk, 
but I am sorry to say that she lived only three days 
after her mother's death. She died the fourth day to- 
ward noon, having taken an unconquerable dislike to the 
goat's milk.' She died gently; her tiny legs and arms 
had become shriveled, her ribs could all be seen, and her 



A GOMILLA HUNT, 85 

small hands had wasted almost to nothing. She died 
on the little bed of straw I made for her as if she went 
to sleep, without a struggle. 

So no one was now left of my family of gorillas but 
Master Tom, and he was healthy and strong enough, and 
ate all the berries, nuts, and fruits we brought to him. 
For days I tried to take the little demon's photograph, 
but all in vain. The pointing of the camera toward him 
threw him into a perfect rage, and I was several times on 
the point of giving him a severe thrashing. At last I 
succeeded in taking two views, not very perfect ; but this 
was better than nothing. 

The place where these gorillas had been captured was 
about thirty miles above my settlement, up the river ; at 
this point a low, narrow promontory projects into the 
stream. This spot was my favorite hunting-ground for 
gorillas, which came there to eat the wild pine-apple, and 
it was tiiere I intended to take my good friend Captain 
Burton, the great African traveler, the man who made 
the pilgrimage to Mecca, for he was now at Fernando 
Po, and had promised to make me a visit. 

The gorillas were discovered in this way : A woman 
passing through that region came to her village and said 
she had seen two squads of female gorillas, some of them 
followed by their children* they were going, she thought, 
to her plantain field. My hunters were on the spot where 
I had left them the day before, and with the villagers, 
who armed themiselves with guns, axes, and spears, at 
once sallied forth in pursuit. The situation was very fa- 
vorable for the hunters, who formed a line across the nar- 
row strip of land, and pressed forward, shouting and 
driving the animals to the edge of the water, their ter- 



86 TEE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

rific noise bewildering the gorillas, which were shot and 
beaten down in their endeavors to escape. There were 
eight adult females together, but not a single male. 

Time now began to weigh heavily upon me, and a 
weary interval passed by. I did not know how long it 
might be before a vessel would come to me. Had my 
letter to Messrs. Baring reached them? If it had not, 
what should I do ? 

I begun to feel very lonely despite hunting excursions 
and the gorilla scene I have just described to you. I 
would go almost every day on the sea-shore and watch 
for a sail ; now and then I would see one, but it was the 
sail of a whaler or of a trader, who took good care not 
to come to anchor near this wild part of the western 
coast. 

On the 30th of June, as I came down the Eiver Com- 
mi from a hunting excursion, having bade adieu to Olen- 
ga-Yombi, and was returning to my own settlement, ex- 
pecting to remain there and wait for the coming vessel, 
I saw a canoe with sail set coming up the river and ma- 
king for us. I immediately ordered my paddlers to go 
toward the canoe. Soon we met, when Kombe shouted, 
"Chally, your vessel has come!" I jumped from my 
seat and cried back, " What do you say, Kombe ?" He 
repeated, "Your vessel has arrived." I was wild ; I was 
crazy with joy ; no news could have been more welcome. 
I shouted (I could not help it), "Good for you. Baring 
Brothers ! You have acted like true friends. Three 
cheers," I called to the boys, "three cheers for Baring 
Brothers, who have sent the ship to me. Let us paddle 
with all our might," said I; "let us not stop; I must 
reach Plateau before morning." 



LETTERS FR OM HOMJE. g 7 

On mv arrival at that place, Ranpano handed me two 
letters which the captain of the ship had sent for me. 
One was from the captain himself, announcing his arri^ 
val ; the other was from Baring Brotliers. Yes, they had 
sent me all the goods I wanted — a second supply of sci- 
entific instruments. These great bankers and merchants 
had taken the trouble to send to Paul Du Chaillu all he 
had asked for, and they did not know when they would 
be .paid. I assure you I was so overjoyed that for a few 
minutes I did not know what I was doing. 

I ordered at once all the sea-canoes to be ready. I 
must go on board; no time must be lost. The next 
morning it was hardly daylight when I had left for the 
mouth of the river. Soon after our canoes were put 
over to the sea-side, we passed the surf smoothly, and I 
was on board the vessel shaking hands with Captain Ber- 
ridge, the commander. 

Oh, what an enjoyment I had ! how many letters from 
friends told me that I was not forgotten ! Then news- 
papers came, and my heart became sad w^hen I saw 
that the civil war was still raging in America; "but," 
said the captain, " there is a prospect that it will soon be 
over." 

My vessel had only arrived two days when a native 
entered my hut in great consternation, and said that a 
smoking vessel with ten guns was in the river, and they 
thought it had come to make war. After a while, a flat- 
bottomed steamer, forty feet in length, put out her an- 
chor in front of my settlement, and fired off a gun to sa- 
lute me. 

I need not tell you that there was tremendous excite- 
ment among the natives now that an ouatanga otouton 



88 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS, ■ 

(smokiDg ship) had entered their river. The name of 
this little vessel was the Leviathan. 

A few days after I was on board of the Leviathan 
steaming for Goumbi, for I wanted Quengueza to see 
what a steamer was. The appearance of this little boat, 
which did not draw more than two feet of w^ater, cre- 
ated the most intense excitement. The Leviathan was 
a screw steamer. "Oh," exclaimed the people, "look! 
look ! the vessel goes by itself, without sails, without pad- 
dles ! Oh ! oh ! oh ! what does that mean ?" , They would 
spy US far off, and then would crowd the banks of the 
river. Many were stupefied at the sight, and could not 
make out what it meant, especially when they recog- 
nized me, while others would deny that it was me, and 
others exclaimed, " Chally, is that you ? Do not our eyes 
belie us ? Tell us — shout back to us !" and then I would 
say, " It is I — Chally." Then they would recognize me, 
put out in their canoes, and paddle with all their might 
in order to catch us. 

As we approached Goumbi, where the river, in de- 
scending from the interior, bends in its westerly course, 
the banks were high and wooded, and the river very tor- 
tuous. Here the steamer puffed its way right up to the 
villages before it could be seen, and the alarmed natives, 
who heard the strange noise of the steam-pipe and ma- 
chinery, were much frightened, and, as we came in sight, 
peeped cautiously from behind the trees, and then ran 
away. 

At last we came in sight of Goumbi. The excitement 
v/as intense. From Goumbi the people could see well 
down the river. The drums began to beat, and the peo- 
ple were greatly frightened. Then we cast anchor, and 



KINO qUENGUEZA. 89 

as I landed the people shouted, " It is Chally ; so let us 
not be afraid, for no one will harm us when Chally is 
with them." 

Captain Labigot and Dr. Touchard, who had landed 
with me, received an ovation ; guns were fired, and in a 
short time we found ourselves in the presence of the 
great King Quengueza. He did not know what all this 
meant, but he felt big. Hundreds of Bakalai and A^hira 
were arouild him ; he looked at them, and said, "Do you 
see? do you see? I am Quengueza; my fame is great, 
and the white man comes to see me," and he turned 
away without saying another word. 

My great desire was to persuade Quengueza to come 
on board, and I was afraid I would not be able to effect 
this. I said, " Quengueza, I have brought you white peo- 
ple who want to see your river, and I want you to come 
on board wif:h us ; they want to see the Niembouai and 
the Bakalai." ' The old chief said he would go ; " for," 
said he, " Chally, I know that no one will hurt me when 
I am with you." Good Quengueza knew me quite well ; 
he had perfect faith in me ; he knew that I loved him as 
he loved me. I said, " Quengueza, you are right." 

Early the next morning the steam was up, and, in de- 
spite of the protestations of his people, the old king came 
on board, and was received with a royal salute from the 
two small guns. The excitement on the shore was in- 
tense ; the booming of the guns re-echoed from hill to 
hill, and lost itself in the immense forest. Many a wild 
beast must have been astonished ; gorillas must have 
roared, and thought that it was strange that there was 
any thing besides thunder that could make a noise loud- 
er than their own roars. The old African chieftain ac- 



90 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

companied iis unattended, and as the anchor was raised 
and we began to steam up the river, he looked backward 
toward his people, who were dumb with astonishment, as 
if to say, " Do you see ? your old chief is afraid of noth- 
ing." I had induced good Quengueza to wear a coat, 
though he was in deep mourning. 

You would have liked to see King Quengueza seated 
on a chair on deck. As we passed village after village, 
he looked at the Bakalai with silent contempt, and they 
could hardly believe their own eyes. The crafty old 
king took care to let the people see him, for it was to 
give him great fame : the people would say, " We saw 
Quengueza on a vessel of 'fire and smoke, going up the 
river without sails or paddles." 

After two days we came back to Groumbi, and I said 
to the people, " I bring your old chief back to you." A 
feast was given us by Quengueza, and we steamed once 
more down the river. Then I ordered every thing to be 
got ready, for I was soon to set out upon my long jour- 
ney. 





CHAPTER IX. 

DOWN THE EIYER IN A CANOE. A STKANGE PASSENGEK.— 

TALK WITH A GORILLA. LANDING THEOUGH THE BREAK- 

ERS. PREPARING TO CROSS THE CONTINENT. THE DE- 
PARTURE. . 

On the 18th of August, 1864, 1 sent back the vessel to 
England to the Messrs. Baring, and early that morning we 
left my settlement and sailed down the river in my lar- 
gest canoe. We had a strange lot of passengers with us. 
The most Temarkable of them was Master Tom Gorilla; 
not far from him, at the bottom of the canoe, alive and 
kicking, was a yellow wild boar, which I had raised from 
a little bit of a fellow ; and near the boar were two splen- 
did fishing eagles. Another canoe contained the skins 
and skeletons of several gorillas, the skins of chimpan- 
zees and other animals, besides a great many insects, 
butterflies, and shells. 

Tom had managed to get on top of the little house I 
had made for him, and there he sat screaming. It was 
a good thing that the chain around his neck kept him at 
a safe distance from us. This morning, as we came 
down the river, he was fiercer than I had ever before 
seen him. Tom was much stronger than Fighting Joe, 
with whom you became acquainted in one of my preced- 



92 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

ing volumes, and consequently a more formidable fellow 
to deal with. Happily, he could not come down upon us 
and bite any of us. I could not help laughing when I 
saw him so angry. He could not understand why he 
had been disturbed ; he did not like the looks of things 
around him, and his fierce and treacherous eyes did not 
bode us any good. 

I said to him, " Tom, you are going to the white man's 
country ; I wish you health. You are an ugly little ras- 
cal ; all my kindness to you has not made you grateful. 
The day that I am to bid you good-by sees you as in- 
tractable as ever. You always snatch from my hands 
the food I give you, and then bolt with it to the farthest 
corner of your abode, or as far as the length of your 
chain will allow. I have to be very careful with you, 
for fear of your biting me. Tom, you have a very bad 
temper. When you are angry you beat the ground with 
your hands and feet, just like a big, grown-up gorilla. I 
suppose, if you were a full-grown gorilla, you would beat 
your chest. Tom," said I, " many times you have woke 
me in the night by your sudden screams ; often you have 
tried to take your own life — I suppose it was because 
you could not bear captivity. I have rescued you sev- 
eral times from death in your attempts to strangle your- 
self with your chain, through rage at being kept a pris- 
oner. Oh, Tom, hov/ often you have twisted that chain 
Ground and around the post to which you were attached, 
until it became quite short, and then pressed with your 
feet the lower part of the post, till you almost succeeded 
in committing suicide by strangulation, and would have 
succeeded if I had not come to your rescue. Tom, I 
have been patient with you ; I have taken care of you, 



TALK WITH A GORILLA, 93 

and you have my best wishes for a prosperous voyage, 
and I hope you will reach the white man's country in 
safety." 

The moment I paused in this address Tom would an^ 
swer me with a growl. 

" Tom, I have laid in a great deal of food for you on 
shipboard: there are two hundred bunches of bananas 
and plantains, a great many pine-apples, a lot of sugar- 
cane, and many barrels of berries and nuts ; so you will 
have plenty of food. But, Tom, you must try to eat the 
white man's food, for the bananas and the berries will 
not last all the voyage. Thus far I have not been able 
to cook you any of the white man's food, though I have 
nearly starved you, and kept you for days with hardly 
any food at all." 

Another growl greeted this talk, as if to say,*" I know 
what ydu say to me." 

" The captain will take you, Tom." Then I looked at 
Captain Berridge. 

" Yes," said he ; " Tom, all I ask of you is to keep well, 
and to reach safely the country of the white men, so they 
may see how a young gorilla looks." 

By the time I had ended this queer conversation with 
Tom we had reached our place of landing, and on the 
sea-shore several canoes were waiting for us. The break- 
ers were high ; several canoes had been upset, and their 
contents lost. 

When I saw the state of the breakers, I concluded not 
to ship my photographs, and I tried to prevail on the cap- 
tain not to go on board that day ; " but," said he, "I have 
my life-preserver with me, and I will run the risk." The 
large surf -canoe was got ready ; Tom was put on board 



94 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

with his house, and the first thing he did was to get on 
top of it, where for a moment he yelled in affright at the 
foaming billows around him, and then hid himself in his 
house. The men had to be on the alert, and in the 
twinkling of an eye two stout fellows took Captain Ber- 
ridge in their arms and put him in the canoe. They 
started off at once, passing the first breaker without ac- 
cident ; but the second, a huge one, broke over the canoe, 
filling it with water, and very nearly upsetting it. The 
wave went right over Master Tom, who gave a most ter- 
rific howl, and the bath, instead of cooling his rage, made 
him more violent than ever. The yellow wild boar gave 
several piercing screams, and the poor eagles were almost 
drowned, for the live-stock were all together. 

I could not restrain my laughter at the rage of Tom ; 
he did not seem at all to like the taste of salt water. 
When the canoe returned, for upon this attempt it was 
found impossible to pass the breakers, he jumped on the 
top of his house, shaking himself, and looking fiercely all 
around. No one dared to approach him after the 'canoe 
had landed, though really I could not help laughing to 
see poor Tom in such a plight — it was so unlike^ the 
woods where he had lived. I gave him a fine ripe ban- 
ana, which he ate voraciously, and he became more quiet 
afterward. 

In the afternoon, just at low tide, before the sea began 
to rise again, the captain, Tom, the wild pig, and the 
eagles went safely through the breakers. 

I did not go on board. I took a bill of lading for 
Tom, and gave a draft for one hundred pounds sterling 
to the captain, to be paid to him by Messrs. Baring Broth- 
ers on the receipt of a live gorilla. 



GRAND PALAVUn. ' 95 

Would you like to hear the end of the story of Tom, 
which I heard on my return ? 

After three weeks all the bananas, plantains, berries, 
and nuts which he had not consumed were spoiled, and 
there was nothing left to give Tom but white man's food, 
though, as long as he could get his native aliment, the 
captain had tried in vain to make him eat of it. But 
when the fruits had been exhausted Captain Berridge 
called the cook, whereupon pies and puddings w^ere 
made, and rice was boiled, plain and with molasses, but 
all these dainties Tom rejected. Crackers were offered 
him with no better result. Tom refused all kinds of 
food for three days, and the fourth day he died of star- 
vation, and to the day of his death he was as ugly as the 
day he was captured. 

A few days after the departure of the vessel, all the 
Commi chiefs met at my request, for I was ready to leave 
the country, and we held a grand palaver. 

" I am your friend," said I to them ; " I know that j'ou 
love me. The vessel has gone, and now I am ready to 
go to the other side of your island" (I tried to make them 
understand that Africa was almost an island). "The 
journey will be a long one. I may have to go through 
a hundred tribes ; there may be w^ar ; I may encounter 
hunger and starvation. We shall sail and paddle over 
many rivers ; I shall cross over many mountains, and see 
many valleys and prairies. I am going toward the spot 
where the sun rises." 

" Oh ! oh ! oh !" shouted the chiefs. 

" Yes," said I, " I have told you the truth ; and now I 
want some of your people to go with me. At the end of 
the long journey they will find all that they most desire — 

E 



9 6 THE CO VNTR Y OF THE D WARES. 

all the coats, all the hats, all the shirts, all the beads, all 
the guns, all the powder they want, and then a vessel will 
bring them back to you. It will be a rough journey, and 
perhaps some of those who go with me will never return 
again to you. But so it is with you when you go trad- 
ing ; one after another dies on the road, but it is not long 
before you go trading again. I want no man to come 
with me by force — sent by his chief or father; I want 
free men, with strong and brave hearts, who have heard 
all that I have said, so that when we are pinched for food 
there may be no grumbling. I do not go to make war, 
for war would stop our progress." 

"What a talker our white man is!" they shouted. 
"Yes," said all the Commi chiefs at once, "we will not 
forbid any one to go with you. You have talked to us 
right ; you have told us no lies. If a man comes back, 
lie will come back rich." 

Great excitement prevailed among the Commi for sev- 
eral days after my speech. Many young men wanted to 
follow me, but their families objected. In the mean time 
1 was busy packing up my large outfit. 

" I will be satisfied," said I to myself, " if I can get 
twenty-five Commi men to accompany me." But many 
had been frightened at my speech. Nevertheless, a few 
days after what I have related to you, there might have 
been seen several canoes on the river bank just opposite 
my settlement. Among them were two very large war- 
canoes, the largest in the country, which sat deep into the 
water, laden with the bulky equipment which was to be 
used by me in crossing the immense wilderness of Equa- 
torial Africa. We were all ready to leave the country. 

Many of the Commi people were to accompany me as 



A GREAT FETICH-MAK 97 

far as GoHmbi, while the men who were to follow me 
were but few ; but we were great friends. My compan- 
ions for the great expedition w^ere ten altogether. 

There was Igala, whom I considered my right-hand 
man, a warrior of great repute, one of the most famous 
hunters of the country. He was a negro of tall figure 
and noble bearing, cool and clear-headed in face of dan- 
ger, fierce as a lion, but with me docile and submissive. 
Igala was to be my leader ; he was to be foremost in the 
fight, if fighting had to be done. He or I were to lead 
the van into the jungle, and he was to keep a sharp look- 
out and see that the porters did not run away with their 
loads. With twenty such men as Igala I would have 
been afraid of nothing in Africa. Igala had a great rep- 
utation as a fetich-man, and his war and hunting fetiches 
especially w^ere thouglit by the people to be very potent. , 

Next to Igala came Eebouka, a big, strapping negro, 
whose chief fault was that he always bragged about the 
amount he could eat ; and he had really sometimes too 
good an appetite, fcM* the fellow could eat an enormous 
quantity of food. But Rebouka had many good quali- 
ties, one of which was that he was a good fighting man, 
a very important one for me. 

Igalo, bearing almost the same name with the fierce 
Igala, was a tall young man, full of spirit and dash, im- 
petuous, excitable, and I had always my eye upon him 
for fear that he would get us into trouble. He could 
fight well too. 

My good boy Macondai, a fellow I had almost brought 
up, the only sea-shore boy whom Quengueza had allowed 
to be with me in the country of the Bakalai in former 
times, was also of my party. 



9 8 THE CO UNTR Y OF THE D WABFS. 

Then came Mouitchi, a powerful negro, not a Commi, 
but a slave, who had come into the Commi country when 
a mere boy. Mouitchi had been a slave of Djombouai, 
Kanpano's nephew, but his freedom had been given him, 
and now he wanted to be five years on the road, and to 
see the white man's country. Mouitchi was very black, 
not very tall, a short-necked fellow, and was the very type 
of the negro, with thick lip's, and a big nose, almost as 
flat as that of a gorilla. 

Another of my fellows was Rapelina, a short, stout ne- 
gro, young, but strong as an ox. One of the chief faults 
of Eapelina was that he was sulky and obstinate, but I 
could always get along with him. He was a slave of 
Sholomba, another nephew of Ranpano, who did not 
want to be behindhand in manifesting an interest in my 
expedition, and, as Rapelina wished to accompany me, 
Sholomba gave him his freedom. 

Retonda, Ngoma, Igala-Tengo, boys, were three other 
slaves that wanted to go to tlie white man's country, and 
so their freedom was also given them. Ngoma and Ma- 
condai were to be my servants ; Ngoma was to be my 
cook, and Macon dai was to wait upon me while eating. 

Igala, Rebouka, Igalo, and Macondai belonged to the 
best blood of the country ; they were descended from 
men who had been great in their tribe, but, as I said to 
them before we started, " Boys, there are to be no distinc- 
tions among you ; we all have stout hearts, and the white 
men will thank us all alike if we succeed in our journey." 
I made Igala chief over them, and his orders were to be 
implicitly obeyed. 

You have now a pretty good idea of the men and boys 
who were to follow me into that great equatorial jungle. 



THE BOYS' OUTFIT. 99 

and share my perils in countries so wild that we had not 
the slightest idea what we should meet with, either in 
the people 01 in the wild beasts. 

I had a nice outfit for each one of my boys (for so I 
called them). Each one of them had three thick blue 
woolen shirts, of the best quality that I could find, and, 
with care, these would last the whole of the journey. 

They had, besides, each two pairs of thick canvas trow- 
sers, which they were to wear sometimes on the line of 
march to protect them against the stings of insects, from 
thorns, and many other injuries ; but ordinarily the trow- 
sers were to be w^^rD Duly when making their appearance 
in the villages. A l such times the boys were also to 
wear red worsted caps. 

So they were not to look like the olomeiga (bushmen), 
as they called the interior people, whom they despised 
most l^horoughly, being, they said, the class from which 
the slav^came. 

Every man had a good thick blanket to keep him 
warm at night, and to protect him from the musquitoes. 
I had given to each man a fine gun ; besides, they had 
each a pair of pistols, a bag to contain their ammunition, 
and a huge hunting-knife. 

For weeks before our departure I had drilled my men 
in the use of their gans, or in practicing target-shooting, 
so that they might be i^plendid shots from the start ; and 
in this, of course, a gre^i deal of ammunition was wasted. 

As the hour for our departure approached, the banks 
of the river were crowded with people. It was on the 
2d of October, 1864. That unfortunate shipwreck had 
caused me a great loss of time, but at last we were ready, 
and the people had come to see us off and say good-by. 



] THE CO UXTR Y OF THE D WARES. 

Many a sad heart was on that shore ; many a mother and 
sister thought it was the last time they should see the 
men and boys that were going with me. I felt the great 
responsibility I had assumed in taking away my men 
from their people. 

Every thing was ready, good-by had been said a hun- 
dred times, the men had been in the canoes and had gone 
! ashore again, when I said, " Boys, let us break off. I know 
it is hard to leave home. Don't you think it was hard 
for me to leave the white man's country ?" 

Igala, my right-hand man, my warrior, my hunter — 
Igala, with the heart of a lion, was the only one left 
ashore. He could not tear himself away from his little 
daughter, whom he tenderly loved, and who clung close- 
ly to her father, the tears streaming from her eyes, and 
begging him not to go with the white man on the okili 
mpolo (long road), for he would never come back. It 
was a great trial for Igala. I could see by the w^orking of 
his face that his pangs at parting were severe. " Do not 
cry, ouana amee (my child) ; I am coming back ; we shall 
reach the other side. I am going with Chally ; I vv^ill 
bring plenty of beads from the white man's country." 
Then, by a sudden effort, he left her and jumped into my 
canoe ; I gave the order for departure, and in the midst 
of tremendous shouting andHring of guns we got in mo- 
tion. I hoisted the Stars and Stripes at the stern of my 
big canoe, and turned my head toward the mouth of the 
river as if to catch a glimpse of the sea once more. 

As I looked at my men in that canoe my heart melted 
with love for them. What a strong faith they nlust have 
had in me ! They had left father, mother, wife, sister, 
to follow me. I swore to myself that their confidence 



A CELEBRATED DOCTOR. 103 

in me should not be misplaced ; henceforth they were to 
be brothers to me. 

That night, as we stood by the fire in oar camping- 
ground, I said, " Boys, you have left fathers, mothers, 
brothers, sisters, wives, your children, for me, because you 
would not permit me to go alone from tribe to tribe ; for 
'you said, ' If you get sick, who shall take care of you ? if 
you are hungry, w^ho shall get food for you ? We will 
follow you to the end of the journey to the other side of 
the island, for w^e know that if you reach the white man 
you will bring us back to our country; we know that, 
even if one white man should be willing to give ten ship- 
loads of goods for one of us, you would not sell us.' 
Boys, you have always heeded what I said to you ; w^e 
are friends. When you come back and walk in your vil- 
lages, the people will say, ' Here are the men with strong 
hearts ;l th^y went with Chally, and have seen what nei- 
ther black men nor white men had ever seen before.' " 

Where we had stopped for the night lived a celebrated 
doctor who the people believed could foretell events. His 
name was Oune-jiou-e-mare (head of a bullock) ; he was 
about seventy years of age, and a kind-hearted old man. 
As he enjoyed the reputation of being a great prophet, 
my people asked him whether our journey would be pros- 
perous. He replied that we should go very far, and that 
a big chief would ask Chally to marry his daughter, and 
then, if Chally married her, and gave her all she asked, 
and made her heart glad, she would lead us from tribe 
to tribe until we reached the far-off sea where we wished 
to go. 

"Chally, you must marry that girl," they all shouted; 
" yes, you must." 

E2 



104 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

The next day Ranpano left us, but not before I grant- 
ed a strange request of his. He wanted me to take off 
the garment I wore next to my skin ; " not," said he, " that 
I want it to wear, but I will keep it, and then you will 
be sure to come back." 




Hi^'^^K 


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CHAPTEE X. 

A ROYAL WELCOME. DEPARTURE FROM GOUMBI. THE STO- 
RY OF NCHANGA AND ENOMO. ASCEKDING THE OYENGA 

RF^ER. A HOSTILE BARRIER REMOYED. THE ADYICE 01? 

QIJENGIJEZA. 

After a few days we reached the kingdom of Qiien- 
gueza, and I received a royal welcome from the sturdy 
old chief 5 for he loved me more than any body else. That 
evening we remained together all alone, and talked about 
my long journey. He said to me, " Chally, every body is 
afraid ; none of my free men want to follow you. They 
think they will never come back ; but one of my slaves 
says he will go with you, and you can depend upon him. 

" To make sure of your success," said the old king, " I 
want you to go where you like. I am an old man, but I 
am strong, and, though more than forty dry and forty 
rainy seasons have passed since I have been to the Ashira 
country, I will go there with you. I will put you myself 
in the hands of my friend Olenda, the Ashira king, and 
tell him to send you on." 

Thirteen days after my arrival at Goumbi the beat- 
ing of the kendo (the royal standard alarum) awoke 
me just before sunrise, and I heard the voice of the old 
chief invoking, in a loud tone, the spirits of his famous 
royal ancestors to protect us on our journey. The spir- 
its he invoked were those of men who had been famous 



106 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

in war or as rulers, and their names had been handed 
dow^ from generation to generation. Igoumbai, Wom- 
bi, Rebouka, Ngouva, Ricati, Olenga-Yombi — the skulls 
of all these great men were kept in the alumbi house of 
the king. 

Quengneza was prouder than any chief I knew of the 
powers of his deceased ancestors, and well might he be, 
for several had been great warriors, and some had been 
wise rulers. 

At 10 o'clock on the 28th of October we left Goiimbi, 
followed by a large array of canoes. We had had some 
trouble before the start, for Quengueza's slaves were 
alarmed, and many had hid in the woods. They were 
afraid that their master would give them to me, and they 
did not desire to go ofi into the far country. 

'' Good-by" shouted the villagers on the shore ; " good- 
by, Chally ; come back to us. Take care of our king ; 
we do not like him to go so far away with you, for he 
is old ; but he loves you, and will accompany you part of 
the way." And just as we disappeared from sight a wild 
shout rang through the air. It was the last farewell to 
me of the Goumbi people. 

That evening we reached the junction of the Niem- 
bai and Ovenga Rivers, and resolved to pass the night 
on the shore. The rivers were low, for the dry season 
had been unprecedented in its length — indeed, the lon- 
gest that the people could remember. In that country 
the rainy season comes from inland, and gradually makes 
its way to the sea-shore, while the dry season begins at 
the sea-shore, and gradually makes its way inland. 

That evening our camp was a merry one, for the men 
who Y^rent out caught a great many fish (mullets and con- 



KOUXD THE CAMP-FIRE, 107 

dos). The number was prodigious, for at that season of 
the year these fish ascend the river as the shad do in 
spring in America. The smoke of many a camp-fire as- 
cended among the trees, and jokes, and laughter, and sto- 
ry-telling were carried far into the night. A negro is 
never happier than when he has nothing to do and plen- 
ty to eat. 

My couch, made of leaves, was by the side of Quengue- 
za's, and my brave companions were all around us. 

Some funny stories were told that night, and one of 
them I wrote down. The long dry season was the sub- 
ject of conversation. A man belonging to Goumbi got 
up. Nchanga means the wet, Enomo the dry season. 
These two seasons are personified wdth the African. So 
the story went : 

JSTchanga and Enomo had a great dispute as to which 
was the oldest, that is to say, which was the first to begin, 
and finally an assembly of the people of the air met to 
decide the question. Nchanga said, " When I come to a 
place, rain comes." Enomo retorted, " When I make my 
appearance, the rain goes." "Yerily, verily," said the 
people of the air, who had listened to Enomo and ISTchan- 
ga, " you must be of the same age." 

These long dry seasons have a special name, and are 
called enomo onguero* they last about five months. The 
showers coming at the close are very light, and produce 
no impression on the rivers. 

Next morning we ascended the Ovenga, which was very 
low, being about twenty feet below the high- water mark. 
The narrow stream was encumbered with fallen trees and 
sand-banks, and the journey was difficult and slow. 

We were getting among the Bakalai villages which 



• 108 THE COTINTBT OF THE DWARFS. 

lined the river banks from place to place, when sudden- 
ly we came to a spot where the river had been fenced or 
obstructed right across on account of some petty trade 
quarrel which the people of the village opposite had had 
with some other village higher up. 

As soon as King Quengueza saw this his countenance 
changed, and wore the fiercest expression, and for the 
first time I could see that the terrible accounts I had 
heard of his warlike disposition when younger were true. 
The face of the man fairly changed its color. He, the 
King of the Rembo, traveling with his ntangani (white 
man), saw that his river had been barred. 

He got up and shouted, " Where are the axes and the 
cutlasses ? where are the spears and the guns ?" and he 
took up a gun himself, and fired into the air. 

The fence was demolished in a few seconds, and on- 
ward we went. Our canoe took the lead, and just as we 
turned a bend in the river I saw five elephants crossing 
it, and before I had time to get a shot at them the huge 
creatures reached the bank and plunged into the forest, 
demolishing all the young trees which stood in the way 
of their flight. 

Finally we reached the junction of the Ovenga River 
and of the Ofoubou, and set up our camp there. Quen- 
gueza immediately dispatched messengers to the Ashira 
king, asking him to send us men. Our camp was close 
by the village of friend Obindji, with whom you are al- 
ready acquainted, who came to see us every day. 

You remember the description I gave you of Obindji, 
and the fierce witchcraft-palaver that took place at his 
cabin, Pende, his brother, having been accused of steal- 
ing dead men's bones, etc. 



Q UENG JJEZA' S ADVICE. 109 

I had brought with me a nice present for Obindji, be- 
sides what I had sent him by Quengueza on my arrival. 
The good old Bakalai chief was delighted. 

We remained for several days at onr encampment here, 
till at last the Ashira people, sent by their King Olenda, 
arrived. 

The water was now so low that from the northern 
bank of the Ovenga, on which onr camp was placed, 
there stretched a long point of beautiful sand, upon 
which turtles would come during the night and lay their 
eggs. 

We soon found that the large number of men Olenda 
had sent were not sufficient for repacking our baggage, 
and I remained behind with Quengueza. 

Three nephews of Quengueza — Adouma, Ouendogo, 
and Quabi — went with the Ashira men, taking with them 
all thai the men could carry. When I saw that I had 
really too- much luggage, I gave to Quengueza nearly all 
the salt I had, a great many brass rings, an additional 
supply of powder, etc. 

After a few days the Ashiras returned, and we con- 
cluded to take our departure the next morning. 

Quengueza, besides being an illustrious warrior, was a 
man who had a great deal of common sense, and, after 
every thing was packed and ready, he ordered my men 
to come to him. The old chief's countenance wore a 
grave aspect, and, after looking in the fire for some time, 
smoking all the while as Iiard as he could, he said, "You 
are going into the bush ; you will see there no one of 
your tribe ; look up to Chally as your chief, and obey 
him. Now listen to what I say. You will visit many 
strange tribes. If you see on the road, or in the street 



110 THE COUNTRY OJ^ THE DWARFS. 

of a village, a fine bunch of plantains, with gronnd-nuts 
lying by its side, do not touch them ; leave the village at 
once ; this is a tricky village, for the people are on the 
watch to see what you are going to do with them. 

" If the people of a village tell you to go and catch 
fowls or goats, or cut plantains for yourselves, say to 
them, ^ Strangers do not help themselves; it is the -duty 
of a host to catch the goat or fowl, and cut the plantains, 
and bring the present to the house which has been given 
to the strangers.' When a house is given to you in any 
village, keep to that house, and go into no other; and if 
you see a seat, do not sit upon it, for you know there are 
seats upon which nobody but the owners are permitted 
to sit. 

" But, above all, beware of women ; do not get in love 
with any of them, for you will be strangers in a strange 
land. I tell you these things that you may journey in 
safety ; I want you to have a smooth journey, and get into 
no trouble. I need not tell you to take care of Chally." 

The speech of the old sage was listened to with great 
attention, and Igala said, "Hera (father, king), we will 
follow your advice, for we know that when salt or food 
is left on the road-side it is to catch people ; we know 
that you must not go into other people's houses, for in 
some no one but the owner can go ; and as for sitting on 
somebody else's seat, we know better. We don't want to 
be made slaves. Eera (father), we will remember what 
you have said to us." 




CHAPTEE XI. 

BUSTL*E m THE CAMP. A MAGIC HOEN. QUENGDEZA's 

IDOL. A LIVING SKELETON. — TERRIFIC THUNDER-STORM. 

A GORILLA FAlVnLY. STUPENDOUS CATARACT. 

The next morning after this fine speech of Quengueza 
all was bustle in the camp, and every thing was now 
ready. Quengueza stood by my side, wearing a coat, 
and having a green cloth around his loins ; from his 
shoulder hung his bag, in which there was a large sup- 
ply of tobacco and his kendo ; close by him stood a slave 
and one of his nephews, carrying his gun and the sword 
I had given him. Adouma, Ouendogo, and Quabi were 
also near at hand. 

I was in walking trim, with leggins on, carrying by 
my side a superb pair of revolvers. I bore also a double- 
barreled rifle, and in my bag were 100 cartridges for my 
revolvers, and 150 bullets for my gun. Every man of 
my company was armed to the teeth, and they seemed 
greatly to enjoy looking formidable. 

A gun is fired, the echo of w^hich reverberates from 
mountain to mountain, and then more guns are fired by 
the Bakalai, who know that King Quengueza and his 
friend Chally are now on their journey. 

We paddled up the Of oubou for a little while, when we 
went ashore, and pursued our journey overland. That 
night we slept at the Bakalai village of Ndjali-Coudie. 



112 THE CO UNTM Y OF THE DWARFS. 

The next morning we continued our journey, my dear 
friend Quengueza and I sticking close together. We 
had left Ndjali-Coudie a little before six o'clock, just at 
daybreak, and after a little more than two hours we 
reached the top of a steep hill (369 feet in height), called 
by the people I^omba-Rigoubou, where we stopped for 
breakfast. Immediately after breakfast we marched on- 
ward, and as toward four o'clock poor Quengueza ap- 
peared tired, I thought it best to stop for the night at 
the base of a hill called Ecourou. Here there were the 
remains of an Ashira encampment, which was nothing 
but an old shed, loosely covered with pieces of bark, in 
many places of which I could see through. I had not 
much faith in its excellence for shelter, and wanted to 
send the men to collect leaves, but they were so tired 
that I let them rest. It did not rain every evening, and 
perhaps it would not rain that evening ; besides, we had 
an Ashira doctor with us, who blew his magic horn to 
drive the rain away. 

Quengueza was an excellent companion on the march ; 
full of pride, he would never complain of being tired, 
and disliked above all things to appear old. He was, in- 
deed, an odd sort of person, and the eccentricities of his 
character were endless. Of course he never traveled 
without his idol, which was an ugly, pot-bellied image of 
wood, four or five inches in height, with a row of four 
cowries imbedded in its abdomen, and was generally car- 
ried, when traveling, in one of his coat pockets or in his 
bag. "Walking or sleeping, the idol was never suffered 
to be away from him. Whenever he ate or drank, he 
would take the wooden image and gravely pass his tongue 
and lips over its abdomen, and before drinking any of the 



OLD KING OLENDA. II3 

native beer he would always take it out of his pocket or 
bag, lay it on the ground, and pour a libation over its 
feet. Poor Quengueza ! I used to talk enough to him 
about his superstitions ; I tried to shake his blind faith in 
them, and to teach him to adore the true God and Cre- 
ator. That evening he held a long parley with the idol. 

The next morning old Quengueza appeared to feel stiff 
as he got up, but he took care not to tell it to any body, 
and immediately we started. That day we reached the 
Ashira Land, which was the country to which Quengue- 
za purposed to escort me himself on my way to the inte- 
rior. It is a mark of great friendship here to accompany 
a man part of his journey, and Quengueza, though a man 
beyond threescore and ten, went with me over rough 
mountains, through rushing streams, and along thorny, 
bad roads, to show me how much he loved me. 

As we emerged from the forest into the prairies of 
Ashira La^, the magnificent mountains of Igoumbi-An- 
delS and Of oubou-Or^r^ burst upon our view in the south, 
while in the north the lofty ridge of Nkoumou-Nabouali 
stood out in majestic grandeur against the sky. 

Old King Olenda received us with great demonstra- 
tions of joy ; he came to meet us beating his kendo, and 
seemed delighted to meet me again. How glad he was 
to see Quengueza ! They had not seen each other for 
forty dry seasons and forty rainy seasons (forty years). 

I have given you before, in two of my works, a de- 
scription of old Olenda, the 6ldest man I ever saw. He 
was much the same now as when I last saw him : his 
cheeks sunken, his legs and arms thin and bony, and cov- 
ered with wrinkled skin. He appeared, in fact, a living 
skeleton, yet retained his sight and hearing unimpaired. 



114 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

After we had come to the onandja (palaver house), 
Quengueza said, " I have come to see you again, Olenda ; 
I have come to see you, to bring you with my own hands 
my friend Chally, the spirit, and I want you to provide 
him with an escort to conduct him on to the next tribe." 

Olenda promised every thing. The Ashira came to 
us in great crowds, for they wanted not only to greet 
me, but to see the great Quengueza. 

The next day presents of slaves were brought to Quen- 
gueza. I begged the old chief not to take them ; but the 
trouble was, that, according to the customs of the coun- 
try, it would be an insult for him to refuse them, for he 
was the guest. Nevertheless, I took the responsibility, 
and I said I did not desire Quengueza to take away any 
slaves from the country. Immense quantities of supplies 
were brought to us — goats, plantains, fowls, pea-nuts, sug- 
ar-cane, wild pine-apples, berries, and fruits of all sorts. 
After a few days I held a palaver, and said, " I must see 
the great waterfall of Samba-Nagoshi." 

We started in light marching order, the only heavy 
baggage being my photographic apparatus, for I wanted 
to take accurate views of the splendid scenery w^hich I 
expected to behold. I took only four of my faithful 
Commi boys — Eebouka, Igala, Macondai, and Ngoma. 
The rest of my followers were Ashiras; among them 
were three of Olenda's grand-nephews — Arangui,Oyagui, 
and Ayagui. 

We pursued a northeast direction till we struck the 
Ovigui River, crossing it on an immense tree which had 
been felled for the purpose, and which had lodged about 
fifteen feet from the water. Then we took a path which 
was to lead us to the countrv of the Kambas. Tlie for- 



FEARFUL THUNDER-STORM. 115 

est was exceedingly dense. The first evening we had a 
fearful thunder-storm — the rainy season had begun in 
these mountains. The thunder was terrific, and the fiash- 
es of lightning vividly illuminated the thick woods by 
which we were surrounded. The next morning we re- 
sumed our march along the western foot of a hilly range, 
and not a sound was heard as we trudged steadily along 
in Indian file. On the way we passed through a little 
bit of prairie, the name of which was Opangano, and be- 
fore noon we came to a village of Bakalai. The village 
was fenced; that is to say, each side of the street was 
barred with long poles. The street was very narrow, 
and none of the houses had outside doors. 

The Ashiras were afraid to go into the villages. They 
said that after the people were in, sometimes the gates 
were shut,_and then strangers were killed or plundered, 
A great panic seized the Bakalai as I entered the village^ 
but their fedrs were somewhat allayed when they recog- 
nized Arangui. We remained but a little while, and 
continued our march northward, passing near several vil> 
lages of the warlike Bakalai, two of which were entirely 
abandoned, and before sunset we reached a little prairie 
called the Lambengue. We had had a hard day's work ; 
it had been raining all the afternoon, and we had been 
compelled to travel through the mire and over miles of 
slippery stones; so we built sheds, covering them with 
large leaves, and surrounded ourselves with roaring big 
fires to keep away the snakes and wild beasts. 

The night's rest did little to refresh us, and the next 
morning we still felt weary. For myself, I was quite 
unwell, and found my gun too heavy to carry. The feet 
of my men were sore on account of the pebbles with 



116 THE CO UNTR Y OF THE B WARES, 

which the path was filled the day before. So I took the 
lead to clieer them up, and we were soon lost again in 
that great jungle. Oh, how wild it was ! how desolate ! 
how solitary ! There was not an elephant to be seen, 
nor did the chatter of a monkey break the silence of the 
forest. I was ahead of the party, trying to descry the 
future, when suddenly I was startled by a loud noise of 
the breaking of branches of trees. It was a family of 
gorillas. They had seen me, and began to hurry down 
the trees which they had ascended to pick the berries. 
How queer their black faces looked as they peeped 
through the leaves to see what was the matter ! As they 
came hastily down, the branches would bend with their 
weight. They were of different sizes. " It must be a 
family of gorillas," said I to myself. All at once I saw 
a huge black face looking through the foliage. There 
was no mistake — it was a huge male gorilla. He had 
caught sight of me, and I could distinctly see his hideous 
features, his ferocious eyes and projecting ej^ebrows. I 
was on the point of running away as fast as I could to- 
ward my men, w^hen I heard their voices ; tliey were 
coming up to the rescue. The shaggy monster raised a 
cry of alarm, scrambled to the ground, and disappeared 
in the jungle, going, no doubt, where his mate or family 
had gone before hini. 

A few days after meeting the gorillas I was seated on 
the banks of the River Rembo-Ngouyai, looking at a very 
grand and impressive scene. It was, indeed, a magnifi- 
cent freak of nature. The great body of water rushed 
tlirough a narrow gorge with headlong fury, and the 
whole stream was white w^ith foam. To reach this spot 
we had gone through dense forests, having been led thith- 



MA GNIFICENT CATABA GT, 119 

er only by the roar of the rushing waters. We had pass- 
ed two tribes before gaining the fall — the Kambas and 
the Aviia. The latter were our guides, and they said 
that the Fougamou, the real fall, was above; so we as- 
cended the steep banks of the river for about a quar- 
ter of an hour, when we came upon the object of our 
search. The river here was about 150 yards wide. In 
the middle of it was an island, dividing the fall into two 
parts, and I could only see the half of the fall on our 
side. Between the island and the main land, where I 
stood, the distance was not more than 70 or 80 yards. 
The fall was hardly greater than 15 feet, and that was 
broken in the centre by two huge granite boulders, which 
the water had not succeeded in wearing away or detach- 
ing from the bed of rock over which the river there de- 
scended. The water seemed to rush in an enormous vol- 
ume down a steep incline. The cataract itself I thought 
was not imposing, but below it was one of the grandest 
sights I ever saw. A torrent of fearful velocity and 
great volume leaped madly along in huge billows, as 
though the whole river had dropped into a chasm, and 
bounded out again over ridges of rocks. The scene was 
rendered more magnificent by the luxuriant tropical foli- 
age of the banks. Nothing could be heard but the noise 
of the cataract. The sky was cloudy, a fine rain was 
falling, and that day I could not take a photograph of 
the grand scene. I wanted to sleep that night near the 
fall, but my Aviia guides were frightened, and said that 
the great spirit Fougamou would come during the night 
and roar w^ith such fury in our ears that we could not 
survive it ; besides which, no one had ever slept there. 
I gave you, in my Apingi Kingdom, the legend con- 

F 



120 



THE COUNTRY OF THE B WARES, 



cerning the Samba-Nagoshi Falls just as I heard it from 
the Apingi, and the Aviia repeated it to me. I found 
that the Apingi had added nothing to it at all. 

I had at last seen the famous Samba-Nagoshi Falls at 
the base of the towering Nkoumou-Nabouali Mountains. 
I was satisfied, and a few days after I was on my way 
back to Olenda's village. 




OHAPTEE XII. 

THE DEATH OF REMAJSTDJI. A SINGULAR SUPERSTITION. — 

OUTBREAK OF THE PLAGUE. A TOUCHING INCIDENT.— 

DYING OFF BY SCORES. DEATH OF OLENDA. 

Wpiile on my way from the Falls of Samba-lTagoslii 
to Olenda a secret deputation had been sent to him from 
the Apiiigi country, where, as you are aware, I had been 
made king, and where the people were so superstitious 
about me. The King of Apingi had sent word that 
Olenda must endeavor to dissuade me from going into 
Apingi Land. 

It appekrs that, after I had left the Apingi country, the 
people could not comprehend what had become of me. 
They would come to Eemandji and ask him if he knew 
where I was. They declared that he had hid me in the 
forest for himself ; that he was jealous, and did not want 
his people to see me. They came and asked for presents, 
but poor Eemandji told them that the Spirit had not left 
him many things, and that really he did not know where 
I had gone ; that they had seen me disappear in the for- 
est, and had heard me say good-by to the people just as 
he had. 

A few days after my departure Eemandji was found 
dead in his little hut, on his bed. A cry of anguish rose 
from one end of the village to the other when the news 
of Eemandji's death spread; the people felt sorry, for 



122 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

they loved him. There was mourning and lamentation 
in the Apingi tribe. 

A party among the people rose and exclaimed that 
some of the neighboring people had killed their chief 
by aniemba (witchcraft), because they were jealous of 
him — jealous that he was my great friend — jealous that 
he possessed me. 

Another party, and a very powerful one, having on its 
side the great doctors of the tribe, who had been consult- 
ed about Eemandji's death, declared that the Spirit him- 
self, meaning me, had killed Remandji, for I loved him 
so much I could not part with him, and I wanted to take 
his spirit with me wherever I went. 

A few days after Eemandji's death his son Okabi died 
also. Fear seized upon the Apingi people. "Surely," 
said they, "the Spirit has killed Okabi and Kemandji," 
and many were oppressed with a presentiment of death, 
for many had been my friends, and from that day they 
believed that wlien I left a country I killed my friends 
in order not to part from them. The present chief of 
the Apingi Land, having heard of my arrival, sent a dep- 
utation to Olenda with the words " I do not want to see 
the Spirit. I do not want to follow him, as Remand ji 
and his son have done, but rather prefer to stop at home 
and eat plantain. This present world is good enough for 
me." 

The Apingi messengers were afraid of me, and had 
gone back to their own country without waiting for my 
appearance. So, after the departure of the Apingi mes- 
sengers, a great council of all the Ashira chiefs was held 
to docide by which route I should be sent into the far 
country. 



A TEREIBLE PL A GUE. . 1 23 

It was determined at last that I should go through the 
Otando country, and that messengers should be sent at 
once to the king of that far-off land, telling him that 
Olenda was to send me to him. Quengueza then made 
his preparations to return to Goumbi. 

I sent my men out hunting every day to drill them 
and accustom them to fire-arms. I made them practice 
shooting every day, so that they might become better 
marksmen. I do not speak of Igala, who was what 
might have been called a dead shot. • 

A few days after what I have just related to you, a 
man called Elanga, a grand-nephew of Olenda, was taken^ 
ill with a disease which the natives had never seen. 
Elanga lived a long distance from our village, but his 
people came to me to see what I could do for him. The 
description they gave me was that of the small-pox. I 
promised to go and see him the next day, but that day 
the news^ame that Elanga had died. There was a great 
deal 'of mourning and wailing among the people ; they 
all went to Elanga's village except Olenda, my Commi 
men, and Quengueza's people. 

Elanga had been to our camp to fetch our baggage, so 
immediately the people said Elanga had been bewitched. 
I went to see the body of Elanga ; it could not have been 
recognized. I was not mistaken ; the worst type of con- 
fluent or black small-pox had killed him. So when I saw 
the people around him I tried to dissuade them from 
touching him, and advised them to burn every thing 
with which he had ever come in contact, even the house 
where he slept. Nevertheless, the mourning ceremonies 
took place as usual. My worst fears were realized. Soon 
after, two cases occurred among the mourners ; then it 



1 2 4 THE CO UNTR Y OF THE DWARFS. 

spread like wildfire. Pestilence had come over the land. 
It came from the interior^ and was working its way to- 
ward the sea. 

The plague broke out with terrible violence all over 
the country. Olenda's village was attacked; Olenda's 
favorite wife was the first victim. Every body who was 
attacked died. It was in vain that I begged them to stop 
their "mourning" ceremonies. Almost every body who 
had attended Elanga's funeral had caught the plague 
and died. A cry of anguish rose over the land. 

I established a quarantine camp, and forbid my men 
to move out of it. I was full of anxiety on account of 
poor Qoengueza. 

Half of the people of Olenda had died ; half of the 
Ashira had gone down to their graves. Olenda is still 
well. 

I implored Quengueza to go back to his country. "If 
you love me, Quengueza/' I said, " go home." " No," 
said the old chief ; " to leave you when you are in trou- 
ble ! I, Quengueza, do such a thing ! No, Chally ; the 
people would laugh at me, and say ' Quengueza had no 
power to help Chally on his way.' " 

Things had now become gloomy indeed ; the storm is 
threatening. Rigoli, Quengueza's favorite little slave, had 
taken the plague, which had at last invaded our premises. 
Quengueza took him into his own hut. I was horror- 
struck at the idea, and cried, " Do you want to die, 
Quengueza ?" His answer was beautiful. " I love Ei- 
goli," said he ; " he is the child of an old slave my broth- 
er Oganda left me. I can take better care of him here. 
If I get the plague it will be God's palaver." I looked 
at this savage king, and his noble reply made me love 



qUENGUEZA ASKS FOR A BELL, 125 

him more than ever. A few days afterward Ei2:oli was 
dead. 

Three several times a gang of men had been sent for 
the transportation of my baggage to the Otando coun- 
try ; three times within a few days the plague had car- 
ried away the greater number of them. 

I succeeded in making Quengueza send a large num- 
ber of his people back to Goumbi. Then thirty Ashira 
men were mustered. I wanted them to go with my men 
to the Otando country with part of the luggage. To this 
my Commi men demurred. "How can we leave you 
here ? Who, in the midst of this fearful disease, shall 
cook for you? Some of us must remain with you. 
These Ashira may poison you by putting the gall of a 
leopard into your food. Some of us will stay with you, 
come what may; if we are to die, we will die by you." 
Noble f^^ws ! 

So, with the thirty men which Olenda could now place 
at my disposition,! sent Igala, Rebouka, Mouitchi, Rape- 
lina, Rogueri. Poor Olenda could only give me thirty 
men, for his people were either down with the plague or 
dead. Olenda promised solemnly to Quengueza that as 
soon as the men came back he would send them with me 
to the Otando. 

In the mean time intelligence had been received that 
the- plague had reached the banks of the Rembo-Ovenga, 
and that Bakalai and Commi were dying fast; so old 
Quengueza took his departure for Goumbi, but not be- 
fore I took a good photograph of him. 

Before he left us he said, " Chally, when you come 
back 'with your people, bring me a big bell that rings 
ding, dang, dong, a silver sword that will never rust, a 
brass chest- and plenty of fine thin2:s," 



126 THE COUNTMY OF THE DWARFS. 

I accompanied Quengueza part of the way over the 
prairie. How sad I felt ! for if I ever loved a friend I 
loved friend Quengueza, and just before we were to turn 
our backs upon each other there was a pause. " Chally, 
go back to Olenda/' said Quengueza to me. Then he 
took my two hands in his own, blew upon them, and in- 
voked the spirits of his ancestors to follow me as they 
had followed him. We looked in each other's face once 
more for an instant, and parted, he going toward the sea, 
and I toward the interior. I stood still as the old man 
moved away ; he turned several times to get a glimpse 
of me, but soon disappeared in the tall grass of the prai- 
rie. He had but few of his people with him, for the 
plague had come heavily on Goumbi, and many had 
died of it. 

Quengueza had hardly left the country when the 
plague became yet more terrible ; not a day passed with- 
out its hundreds of victims. A cry of anguish was all 
over the land; the wailings, the mournful songs were 
heard every where. 

At last there were not left well people enough to fetch 
food, and famine succeeded to the pestilence. My poor 
Commi men, who went in search of food in the neigh- 
boring villages, were driven back, threatened with death 
by the terrified inhabitants, who shouted, "The Spirit 
with whom you came has brought this eviva (plague) 
upon us. What have we done to him ?" 

Not one of Olenda's numerous wives was well, but the 
king remained my steadfast friend. He said to his sick 
people that he remembered that when he was a boy the 
same thing had come over the land. How glad I was to 
have Olenda on my side ! 



RAVAGES OF THE PLAGUE. 127 

A few days after the departure of Quengueza, if you 
had been in my little hut, you would have seen me seat- 
ed on the side of my bed, my head resting on my hands, 
in utter loneliness and desolation of heart. 

My boy Eetonda had died and been buried that day. 
How could I feel otherwise than unhappy when a whole 
country was cursing me, and tlie people were more afraid 
of me than of the plague itself ? 

In my own little hut Ngoma was lying near unto death ; 
the crisis had come to him ; his pulse was low. Was he 
to die also ? 

After a while I approached Ngoma, and said, " Ngoma, 
my boy, how do you feel ?" He could hardly speak ; the 
disease had gone also into his throat ; he could not see — 
he was blind ; mortification had set in, and the smell em- 
anating from him was dreadful, and yet there I had to 
sleep. 

In the-iiext hut to mine lay Igala -Yengo ; he too was 
taken with the plague. Poor Igala -Yengo was one of 
Quengueza's slaves, and had said to his master that he 
would go with me. 

Those were indeed dark days for me. One morning, 
as I went to ask old Olenda how he was, he said, "My 
head pains me, and I am so thirsty." That day he laid 
him down on his bed never to get up again. For two 
days the fever increased, and part of the time I was by 
his bedside. The good chief, seeing my sorrowful coun- 
tenance, wonld say, " Chally, do not grieve. It is not 
your fanlt if I am sick. You have not made me ill." 

Oh, these words sounded sweetly to me. I left him 

toward nine o'clock in the evening to go to my hut to 

get a little rest, and found poor Ngoma a little better, 

F2 



128 THE CO VNTB Y OF THE B WARES. 

I did not want Macondai to sleep in my hut ; he was 
the only one besides myself that had not been seized by 
the plague. 

As I lay wide awake on my couch, suddenly I heard a 
cry of anguish, a shriek from house to house. A shud- 
der came over me. Olenda was dead— Olenda, my only 
friend, was dead. 

As soon as that shriek was heard, Macondai, in despite 
of my former orders, rushed into my hut and said, ^' Chal- 
ly, are your guns loaded ? are your revolvers ready ? for 
I do not know what the Ashira may do, since the great 
Olenda is dead." 

I confess that I partook of Macondai's apprehensions, 
but I said to him, " Be of good cheer, my boy ; there is 
but one God, and he will battle for us. Men can only 
kill the body." 

This was a terrible blow for me, the consequences of 
which I could not foresee. Olenda, before dying, or- 
dered his people to take care of me, and in a short time 
passed away as peacefully as if lie had gone to sleep. 




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CHAPTER XIII. 

BURIAL OF OLENDA. A DESOLATED VALLEY.— SUSPICIONS 

AROUSED. ROBBERY. PAUL IN PERPLEXING CIRCUM- 
STANCES. FREEING A MAN FROM THE STOCKS. RAV- 
AGES OF THE PLAGUE. 

The day of Olenda's burial had come^ but there were 
hardly people enough left, to bury him — such had been 
the devastations of the plague. Not far from the village 
stood iurthe prairie a little grove of trees, beneath whose 
shade the chiefs of the Ademba clan, to which Olenda 
belonged, were always buried ; but it had been long since 
an interment had taken place there, for Olenda had out- 
lived his brothers a score of years. All the people who 
could came to the funeral of their chief. 

Olenda looked as if he were asleep. They had dressed 
him in the big coat I had given him, and came to ask me 
if I would give to my friend Olenda the umbrella I had. 
It was the only one I had, but I could not well refuse, 
and I said, "Take it." 

They bore Olenda's body to the grove of trees with 
many manifestations of deep sorrow, shouting, " He will 
not talk of us any more ; he will not speak to us any 
more. Oh, Olenda, why have you left us ? Is it because 
we are all dying ?" I followed the body to the grave, 
and I saw that they seated him on his big coat, and put 



132 ^-'^^ COUXTMY OF THE DWAP^FS, 

over his head the umbrella I had given them for him. 
By his side was placed a chest containing the presents I 
had brought for him, and also plates, jugs, cooking uten- 
sils, his favorite pipe, and some tobacco ; a fire was kin- 
dled, which was to be kept up from day to day for a long 
time, and food and water was brought, which was also to 
be daily replenished for an indefinite period. 

Before dying, Olenda had told his people that he was 
not to leave them entirely; he would come back from 
time to time to see how they were getting on ; so, for a 
few days after his death, the people, would swear that 
they saw Olenda in the middle of the night w^alking in 
the village, and that he had repeated to them that he 
had not left them entirely. 

The once beautiful Ashira, at the sight of which I had 
fallen into ecstasies, had now become the valley of death. 
Crazy men and women, made crazy only by the plague, 
wandered about till they died on the roadside. Every 
body w^as afraid of his neighbor; they had found out, 
at last, that the disease was contagious, and when one got 
it he was left to himself, and the poor creature would 
die of starvation : his wife, his father, his mother, his sis- 
ter, his brother, if any such relatives had been left to him 
by the plague, would fly away from him as from the curse 
of God. 

My Commi men did not come back ; I w^ondered w]J5% 
and began to feel very anxious about them. What had 
become of them ? What a blunder I had made in letting 
these men go ahead of me ! I w^ould have given the 
world to see them again with me, for I did not know 
what those far-away people would do to them. 

Strange rumors came from the Otando country : the 



DARK S USPICIONS. 1 3 3 

news was that the people did not want me to come, as I 
carried with me the eviva (plague) wherever I went. 

Several weeks passed away; no tidings of my men, 
no tidings of Arangui, or of the Ashiras who had gone 
with them. The plague was now diminishing in viru- 
lence for want of victims, for, except Macondai and my- 
self, every body had been attacked with it, and those who 
did not succumb had recovered or were fast recovering. 
In the beginning, every body attacked was sure to die. 

I began to feel suspicious, for three Otando men had 
come to me and told me they had important intelligence 
to communicate, but could not give it just then, and had 
promised to come back after two days. Three days had 
passed away, and I heard one night somebody talking in 
a hut ; I listened outside, and was rewarded by finding 
out that 4he Ashiras had frightened away the three Otan- 
do men, who had gone back to Mayolo. 

At length three of my Commi men suddenly made 
their appearance from Mayolo by themselves. I was 
thunderstruck; the Ashiras of the village were fright- 
ened. What did all this mean ? 

Eebouka, Mouitchi, and Eapelina were the good fel- 
lows. Though it had taken four days to come from the 
Otando country, they had found their way back. They 
were armed to the teeth, and looked like terrible war- 
riors. Igala, tired of waiting for me, had sent them 
back to see what w^as the matter. 

1 now learned that the Ashiras had returned long ago, 
and, though weeks had passed away, I had seen none of 
them. I heard also that several of the loads had never 
reached Mayolo ; that the porters had gone back to their 
plantations with them ; that Arangui was at the bottom 



134 THE COUNTMY OF THE DWARFS. 

of all the thieving; and that Igala, with all his threats, 
could not make the porters sleep together near him at 
night. Then, to cap the whole thing, they told me that 
Arangui had seized one of the Otando men that had 
come to see me, and that this was the reason why the 
other two had fled. 

" What is to be done ?" said I to myself. " I must be 
crafty and cunning, and as wise as a serpent." It would 
never have done to get in a rage. 

I told my men to keep quiet, and not to say a word 
about the robbery. I did not want to frighten them — I 
wanted more porters. 

It did, indeed, require a great amount of self-control 
for me to keep cool when I was quite certain that all the 
men of the village knew that I had been plundered by 
their own people, and that probably most of them had 
been sharers of the plunder. Even Ondonga, who now 
was chief of the village and a cousin of Arangui, knew 
all about it. It is wonderful how savages can keep se- 
crets : not a child, not a woman, not a man in the coun- 
try had breathed to me the slightest word on the subject. 

That night I kept revolving in my mind how I must 
act to get out of the scrape. I said to myself, " I must 
become a hypocrite, and fight cunning with cunning, in 
order to win." 

The next morning I said to my men, " Tell the Ashiras 
that you have not said a word to me about the robbery, 
for you were afraid that I might kill some of them if I 
knew it ; and tell Ondonga, Mintcho, and their people 
that you know they are too great friends of mine and of 
Quengueza to have had any thing to do with the plun- 
der. Tell them that you were obliged to tell me about 



A LYING BASCAL. I35 

Arangui and the seizure of the man in order to give 
an excuse for your coming." I then dismissed them 
with saying, "Boys, mind and do just as I have told 
you." 

To Ondonga, patting him on the shoulder, though I 
felt like blowing out his brains, I said, " Ondonga, I know 
that you are my friend ; I know that the Olenda people 
are good people. I know that you never knew of the 
return of Arangui ; if you had known it you would have 
surely told me." 

Ondonga swore that it was so ; he would have told me 
at once. 

I shouted so that every body could hear me, "Of 
course, Ondonga ; I know that you would have told me, 
for you have a heart, and would not tell a lie. Why did 
friend A^'angui do such a thing as to seize that Otando 
man — Arapgui, whom I loved so much ? The only thing 
Arangui^an do is to give up the man. Must he not give 
up the man, Ashiras ?" I cried. 

" Yes !" exclaimed the people ; " Arangui must give 
up the man." 

I knew very well that no Ashira man would dare to 
go into the Otando country after having put in nchogo 
an Otando man, for they would all be seized, and then 
who should carry my baggage ? 

Mintcho and Ondonga said to me, "We will go at once 
to Arangui's plantation to see if he is there." " He must 
have been hiding from us," said Mintcho, with a laugh. 
" Hypocrite," said I to myself, " what a lying rascal you 
are !" 

They went to Arangui's plantation, and on their re- 
turn, as soon as they saw me, they shouted, " That is so ; 



136 



THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 



Arangui is back. -Arangui is a noJca (rogue, liar), and 
none of us knew /^t." 

"Ondonga, my friend/' I whispered, "a necklace of 
beads shall be on your neck to-night" (and I felt very 
much hke putting a rope around his neck and choking 
him). " ITow tell me the palaver.'' 

Qjidonga said, "Two dry and tw^o rainy seasons ago, 
the Otando people seized a relative of Arangui because 
Arangui owed them two slaves and had not brought the 
goods, and the man is still kept in nchogo (the native 
stocks). Arangui wanted his relative back, and by keep- 
ing that man he thought they would send back his rela- 
tive." 




PEISONER IN NOn(>tiO. 



BELEASED FR OM THE STO CKS. 137 

I knew that, according to African fashion, this palaver 
would last several years. That would never do for me, 
for I must be off. 

My men said that what Ondonga had said was true ; 
they had heard so in the Otando country ; so I sent Mint- 
cho back, and said to him, " Tell friend Arangui that he 
must give up the man. If I had not to take care of jny 
people I would go and see him. Tell him that he must 
do that for his friend Chally. Did not Arangui take 
Quengueza and myself from Obindji's place to come 
here r 

The two rascals Mintcho and Ondonga went again, 
and several days elapsed before Arangui let the man go. 
He did not do it until he was taken ill with the plague ; 
then he became frightened, and thought I was going to 
kill him, so he immediately gave up the man, and On- 
donga and ) Mintcho brought him in triumph to me. 
Poor fellow! his legs were dreadfully lacerated. 

The plague was in its last stage. Arangui had been 
the only one who had not taken it before. The Otando 
man had-not had it, and I was afraid he would catch it. 
If he were to die of it in the country of the Ashiras, not 
one of them would dare to go into that of the Otandos, 
and that would be the end of my trip ; so it was neces- 
sary that I should hurry my departure. If it had not 
been for the rascality of Arangui I would have been in 
the Otando country two months ago. The thought of 
this made my blood boil, and I felt very much like hang- 
ing Arangui to the nearest tree. 

It was the first time that I had been robbed in Africa, 
and that by Olenda's people. I knew they would not 
have done it if their old chief had been alive. 



138 THE COTINTBT OF THE DWARFS. 

What a sea of trouble poor Paul Du Chaillu had to 
contend with ! Indeed, these were days of trial ; but I 
had to face them, and I faced them manfully, though 
several times I was on the verge of despair. 

By some means news of the death of Olenda had 
reached Quengueza, and I was astonished one day to re- 
ceive a messenger from him with word that, as Olenda 
had left no people to carry me and my goods to the next 
country, he was coming to take me to another Ashira 
clan that had people. This frightened Ondonga, and he 
tried hard to get porters for me. 

Terrible tidings now came from Goumbi : all the 
Goumbi people that had come with Quengueza to the 
Ashira country had died of the plague ; nearly all the 
nephews of Quengueza were dead; Obindji had died, 
and every Bakalai chief. In some of the Bakalai vil- 
lages not a human being had been left. Death had 
come over the land. But Quengueza had been spared ; 
the plague had not touched him, though his head slave^ 
good old Mombon, was no more. 




CHAPTEE XIY. 

DEPARTURE FROM ASHIRA LAND. A SILENT LEAVE-TAKING. 

THIEVISH PORTERS.— A CUNNING OLD RASCAL. MIS- 
FORTUNE ON MISFORTUNE. WITHOUT FOOD IN THE FOR- 
EST. A DESPERATE PLOT. FEASTING ON MONKEY-MEAT. 

OUT OF THE WOODS. 

The threat of Quengueza had the desired effect. At 
last Ondonga succeeded in getting porters, who, with my 
own men, made the number of our company about thir- 
ty. No amount of pay could induce more to come. 
They \iere, afraid of trouble. They could not tell what 
the trouble would be, but they had a vague fear that 
something dreadful was impending. 

Every thing that we could not take with us I either 
gave away or destroyed. 

Early in the morning of the 16th of March I left 
Ashira Land. How I had suffered in that poor, unfortu- 
nate land ! The plague had destroyed the people, and 
the survivors accused me of having destroyed the victims 
of the plague. Then things had looked so dark that 
many and many a time I thought the end had come ; 
that no more explorations were to be made, and I fully 
expected to be murdered by the infuriated savages. 

My party of ten Commi men had been reduced to sev- 
en. Eetonda had died ; Eogueri, a slave, had run away, 
and it was he who had advised the Ashira to rob me, and 



140 THE COUNTUT OF THE DWARFS. 

who had tried to disabuse them of my power. The 
plague had disabled Igala-Yengo. He was going back 
to Goumbi now that he was much better, and he was to 
take letters for me. 

I felt thankful that God had spared the lives of so 
many of my men, for Eebouka, Mouitchi, and Eapelina 
took it on their return from Otando. 

I was anxious about Macondai ; he was the only one 
who had not had the plague, as you are aware ; and, leav- 
ing the Ashira country, I knew that I was going into a 
country where the plague had not yet disappeared. 

This time there was no gun-firing as we left old Olen- 
da's village, no singing, nothing — we left silently. I had 
misgivings. I thought of mischief brewing ahead, and I 
was not mistaken. 

That day we crossed the Ovenga, and followed a path 
which led to one of Olenda's large plantations ; there I 
found a considerable village of Olenda's slaves, a slave 
himself being chief over the village. His name was Ma- 
yombo. 

All the porters did not reach the place that evening. 
Ondonga himself had not come. The next morning he 
came with the news that several of the porters had run 
away, leaving their boxes in the path, and that he had 
been compelled to go back and fetch more porters. 

Then I discovered that three boxes of goods were miss- 
ing, and I became furious. Ondonga got frightened ; I 
knew the rascal was at the bottom of the mischief, and 
once or twice I felt like making an example of him by 
calling a council of war, composed of my men and my- 
self, and, upon the clear proof of his guilt, shooting him 
dead on the spot. 



A PACK OF BASCALS. 141 

Ondonga swore that he would find the thieves ; but the 
boxes came back, and they had been broken open, and 
many things were missing. Ondonga pretended to be 
in a violent rage, and declared in a loud voice that there 
should be war, and that the thieves should be sold into 
slavery. It was all I could do to restrain myself from 
breaking the fellow's head. 

The acting was superb. The old chief and some of 
the slaves seized their spears, and shouted, ^^ Let us go 
after the thieves !" They hurried out of the place shout- 
ing, cursing, and vowing death to the thieves. They were 
the thieves themselves ; but I kept cool, and thought the 
day of reckoning would come. 

Misfortune seemed to come upon misfortune. That 
day Macon dai complained of a violent back-ache. He 
had the plague ; this was one of the first symptoms. 

What could I do? When we left the plantation the 
dear gocxj^jbllow tried to walk with us, but he became 
so ill that we were forced. to come to a stand in the 
woods. No greater calamity could have befallen me. I 
felt as if I could cry, for my fortitude was on the point 
of giving way, and it seemed as though the hand of God 
was against me. 

When any thing very important had taken or was 
about to take place, it was always my custom to summon 
my Commi men, and hold a council to see what was to 
be done. So my faithful body-guard were now sum- 
moned to my side. As soon as we were seated together, 
every one of us wearing an anxious look, I said, " Boys, 
you will go ahead ; I will remain here and take care of 
Macondai." 

The men said, " No, Chally." Macondai himself said 



142 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

no. " If we go without you/' said the men, " they will 
begin stealing again." " If you do not go," said Macon- 
dai at once, " you will not have one porter left, for I heard 
to-day some say they were afraid to follow you; they 
were afraid on account of those who had robbed you; 
and if you give them time to talk together, they will 
agree to run away. Go now, Chally," said Macondai, 
" for if you do not you will never reach Mayolo. I shall 
get well." 

After some consultation it was agreed that Igalo 
should remain with Macondai on a small plantation near 
at hand, and Ondonga said the Ashira would take care 
of him. I could not bear parting with Macondai. I 
knew, of course, that the Ashira would not dare to mur- 
der him, but then he was ill. 

After making every possible provision I could for the 
comfort of the sick boy, and enjoining upon Igalo never 
to leave him, and after weighing out medicine to be giv- 
en him at stated times, we continued our march ; but I 
was so wretched that I can not describe to you my feel- 
ings. 

The traveling was exceedingly toilsome. The men 
were overloaded, and I myself carried on my back in my 
otaitai over sixty pounds of ammunition, besides having 
my heavy revolvers slung by my side, and my most for- 
midable double-barreled breech-loader on my shoulder. 
The path — for there was a path — lay through a most pic- 
turesque country, and along a mountain range, extending 
north and south, which lies between the country of the 
Ashira and the Otandos. The hills of this range were 
very much broken up, so that we did nothing else than 
make continuous ascents and descents. The forest was 



THIEVISH PORTERS. 1 43 

dense, and impeded with numerous blocks of quartz 
which lay strewn along the path nearly all the way, and 
quartz crystals covered the beds of the sparkling rivulets 
that flowed at the bottom of every valley. 

. It w^as very tiresome indeed, and I felt sad, very sad, 
for I knew not how things v^ould end. I kept thinking 
of Macondai. I was not master of the position ; they 
might rob me. I could do nothing, for tw- o of my men 
were left in their hands — Igalo and Macondai. 

The second day of our march we came to the River 
Louvendji, which I had crossed, if you remember, in for- 
mer years going to the Apingi country ; and very beauti- 
ful the Louvendji is. The banks where we forded the 
river w^ere lined with beautiful palm-trees. 

The porters began to lag behind under the pretext that 
the loads were too heavy for them. For two days I had 
succeeded in making all the porters keep up with me 
and sleep m my bivouac ; but there was not much sleep 
for me or my men, for we had to keep a sharp look on 
the porters, though they were not armed, lest they should 
have given word to their people beforehand to hide spears 
and bow^s and arrows somewhere in the forest near where 
they knew we would camp for the night. 

The third night, in despite of all my endeavors, some 
of the men would not keep pace with us ; so, when I or- 
dered the people to stop for the night, Mintcho and a few 
men were missing. I knew at once that something was 
wrong, and I said to the Ashira that were with me that 
if I saw one of them move off I would shoot him on the 
spot. 

The next morning we waited for Mintcho and the men, 
and they made their appearance an hour after sunrise. 

G 



144 TEE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

Mintcho immediately affected to be very angry with them. 
" I waited for you," shouted he, " and yon did not come, 
so I could not come and sleep by the side of my friend 
Chally. Where did you sleep ? I blew the horn and you 
did not answer." 

He raised some of the boxes from the ground, and 
cried, " Yes, these are not as heavy as they were ; you 
have been stealing my white man's things; you are 
thieves." At this the culprits got frightened for fear 
of punishment from me, and, leaving their loads in the 
road, fled into the jungle. 

Then came a tremendous excitement. The men open- 
ly declared that it was no use to go farther with the white 
man, for they would not get any pay, as some people had 
robbed him ; that they had worked for nothing. 

It was a plot ; they were all in it. I saw that they 
wanted to leave me in the forest. Some had not dared 
to steal, but Mintcho was the chief thief. I forgot my- 
self, and accused him of it. It was a mistake on my part. 
Mintcho appeared to be terribly angry at my accusing 
him. I saw the blunder at once, and I retracted and 
said that his people had stolen my property, and I did not 
see why he should not be responsible for them ; that such 
was the law of the country. " But," said I, " Mintcho, I 
know that you are my friend, and that you would not do 
such a thing yourself." As we were talking, more por- 
ters ran away, leaving their loads on the ^ound. 

This strange scene had taken place at a distance from 
any river. Things had come to a crisis ; something was 
to be done at once, or I should be left alone in the woods. 
Mintcho and a few porters were the only ones left. I 
could not allow them to go ; so^ calling my Comnii men. 



DECISIVE ME AS UEES. 147 

I said, pointing my gun at Mintcho, " If you make a step 
one way or the other, you are a dead man." In the mean 
time my men, pointing their guns at the Ashira, shouted, 
"Ton are dead men if you move." The fact was sim- 
ply that, if Macondai and Igalo had not been left behind, 
there would have been bloodshed. Apprehensions for 
their safety alone prevented me from resorting to very 
strong measures. 

So I said, " Mintcho and you Ashira men must take 
those loads and carry them to the river ; then you will 
come back and take what remains to the same place, till 
every one of the packages has been carried thither. If 
you try to run away you will be shot ;" and I ordered all 
my Commi men, who had now become furious, to shoot 
down the first man that tried to escape into the jungle^ 
" Follow them," said I to Rebouka ; " never let Mintcho 
move fiomiyou more than a step; shoot him dead if he 
goes tw^o yards." Kebouka swore that he would shoot 
him dead. Mouitchi, Ngoma, and Eapelina followed the 
other Ashiras, 

So they went, I remaining all alone to watch the goods. 
I had become furious, and it required all my self-com- 
mand not to shoot Mintcho as a robber. I kept the 
sharpest lookout in every direction ; my revolvers were 
ready, and all my double-barreled guns were loaded and 
by me ; but nobody came. 

Rebouka, my Commi, and the Ashira came back a 
short time afterward. They had left the loads near a 
stream, and Mouitchi had remained behind w^atching 
them with six guns by his side. His orders were to fire 
on the first Ashira that came from the woods. Our blood 
was up, and we were getting desperate. 



148 THE CO TJNTIt Y OF THE 3 WABFS. 

The Ashiras took each another load, and I repeated 
again to Eebouka and the Commi men to shoot them 
down as they would shoot a monkey if any should try 
to run away. 

At last all the baggage was safely deposited on the 
margin of a little stream, where we were to build our 
camp. 

The Ashiras then became really frightened, and began 
to think they should never get back to their country. 
That night I remained awake with my men, and they 
saw that they could not escape. I had become vindic- 
tive, and they knew it. Mintcho seized my feet, and 
shouted, "Do not kill us; let me go, and keep the other 
hostages. I will have all the things that have been sto- 
len restored to you. I will make the porters come back." 
" No," said I, " Mintcho, there is no going away for you ; 
if you move a step you are dead ;" and, to frighten him, 
I fired a gun at a tree, and he saw that the bullet had 
made a great gash in the tree. 

Then I ordered Mintcho and an Ashira, with one of 
my Commi, to go to Mayolo to get porters. At first they 
would not do it. They were afraid. The game they 
had played had not been quite as successful as they had 
expected. 

We had no food ; it rained every night, and we could 
find no large leaves to shelter us from the heavy fall of 
water. Oh dear ! how far off was Mayolo ? It was clear 
that strong measures must be taken immediately. 

There was still with us our Otando prisoner whom 
Arangui had given back to me. So I said, " Mouitchi, 
hurry to Mayolo with that man, and tell Mayolo to send 
men and food at once, so that we may go to his country." 



ri& THIEVES CAGED. 149 

Mouitchi departed with the Otando man, taking with 
him a necklace of large beads for Mayolo. 

I was now left with Mintcho and seven Ashira rascals, 
and had only two of my faithful Commi men with me — 
Eebouka and Ngoma — to keep watch over them. We 
were encamped in a small open space in the loneliest 
and gloomiest part of the forest, by the path leading to 
the Otando country. We were absolutely without food. 
Eebouka, Ngoma, and myself agreed to keep watch over 
our eight Ashiras, who were now our prisoners. Now 
and then the rascals would pretend to be asleep, and 
snored hard. They lay on one side of the path, and we 
were on the other side, with the luggage piled by us. 
They saw there was no escape, for two of us were al- 
ways wide awake, with all our guns by our side ready to 
fire into the first man who tried to run away. 

The Ashiras felt that they were caught, and began to 
curse thos^ who had robbed me. Mintcho was accused 
by two of them as having been at the bottom of the 
whole plot. Mintcho got angry, and swore that it was 
a lie. I knew that they had told the truth. 

It was very plain that something must be done, or we 
should die of hunger, unless the Mayolo men came with 
food. If it had been the season of the koola-nut, we 
should have had plenty to eat. So I determined to go 
into the bush in search of food, and ordered an Ashira 
to follow me to find berries for his people. I again in- 
structed Eebouka and Ngoma to shoot Mintcho or the 
Ashiras if they tried to escape. I was getting very weak ; 
for, besides the want of food, anxiety had almost killed 
me. I really could hardly walk when I left the camp. 
I came back without game. I had heard a gorilla, and 



150 THE COTJNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

if I could have killed Him we should have had plenty to 
eat, but he ran away before I came up with him. 

That evening I felt so exhausted that I said to my 
Commi boys, " I will rest a little. Keep watch ; let not 
one of these rascals escape. Talk all the time ; tell sto- 
ries ; then I will keep watch after I awake, and you shall 
go to sleep." 

' There was no sleep for me, and I began to think I was 
getting crazy for want of food. I thought of home, of 
dinners, of beef and mutton, and I recalled the hot tur- 
key, and the fish, and the buckwheat cakes ; I could re- 
member distinctly several dinners that had taken place 
years before, and I could have named every dish that 
came on the table in those days of plenty. 

I sent two Ashiras with Rebouka out to hunt, warning 
them that if they tried to run away they would be killed, 
and that I would put to death every Ashira that re- 
mained in my hands. I assumed a fierce look, and swore 
that I would do it. m 

They were more successful than I had been. They 
came back with two monkeys. 

Mintcho and the Ashiras put the meat before me, and 
insisted that I should eat it all alone, saying that they 
were accustomed to starving, and could wait. How 
strange, I thought, these Ashiras were ! They had tried 
to leave me in the woods ; they had plundered me, no 
doubt thinking that I could get other goods ; and, in de- 
spite of the hard treatment they were now subjected to, 
their hearts yearned toward me in kindness. 

I said, "Ashiras, we are all hungry together, and I will 
divide the meat in exactly equal portions." This as- 
tounded the Ashiras, for with them the chief had always 
the lion's share. 



FEASTING ON MONKEYS, 151 

Those monkeys made a delicious repast. How I en- 
joyed my share ! they were so fat and so nice — only we 
could have eaten ten monkeys instead of two. 

As the Otando people appeared, the allayed fears of 
the Ashiras returned ; they began to believe that I had 
sent word by Mouitchi for the Otandos to come in great 
force, and that I was to take them captive for their 
treachery. Once more some of them wanted to go 
back. I swore that they could not go; that I would 
shoot them down ; and that, if any escaped, Quengueza 
would make war upon the Ashiras, and capture all those 
who had come to trade on the banks of his river, and 
then would call on all the Ashira people to destroy the 
clan of Olenda. 

This talk was hardly ended when I thought I heard 
voices far in the distance. " Hark !" said I to my Com- 
mi, " I hear voices." Were they the Otando people, or 
were they^xhe Ashiras coming back to rescue their men ? 
I immediately placed the Ashiras in a group together, 
tied their hands behind their backs, and got the guns in 
readiness, for I was getting desperate. If the Ashiras 
dared to come, they were to be met with a warm recep- 
tion of bullets. 

I was mistaken ; the Otandos were coming. A gun is 
fired — up bounded Eapelina to the rescue, followed by a 
long line of Otando men laden with food sent by King 
Mayolo. A wild hurra from every body, including the 
Ashiras, welcomed the party. That night we rested and 
feasted in order to be strong for the journey. I slept 
well, and it was the first good rest I had had for a long 
time. The next morning I awoke very much refreshed, 
anct at sunrise the horns of the Otandos blew the signal 

G2 



"152 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

for our departure. It had been raining hard during the 
night, and the rain-drops on the leaves of the trees glit- 
tered in the early sunlight. We marched off at great 
speed, for I was determined not to sleep another night in 
the forest. On the tramp we crossed a river called the 
Oganga, on the banks of which the koola-trees were 
growing luxuriantly. Nuts in abundance were lying on 
the ground, and the men fed on them, after which we 
continued our journey. I remember well it was the 10th 
of March, in the evening, just at sunset, that we emerged 
from the solitude of the forest into the Otando prairie, 
so called because the Otandos lived on it. Never shall 
I forget how glad I felt when I came on the margin of 
the forest, and saw the blue sky appearing through the 
breaks in the tree-tops. 




CHAPTER XV. 

IN THE OPEN COTJNTKY AT LAST. INTERVIEW WITH MAY- 

OLO. IGALA FALLS SICK.— A MUTINY. THE OTANDO 

PRAIEIE ON FIEE. EETUEN OF MACONDAI AND IGALO. 

THEIR ADYENTUEES. ALL TOGETHER AGAIN. 

A STRETCH of open undulating country was before me. 
Guns were fired by my men, and soon after I entered the 
first Otando village. It was the village of Mayolo, who 
was the only chief that was willing to receive me. We 
went right to the ouandja, and I seated myself in the 
centre of the building. Soon after, the beating of the 
kendo wa,s heard ; Mayolo, the chief, his body streaked 
with alumbi chalk, was coming, muttering mysterious 
words as he advanced toward me. When he came near- 
er, he shouted, " Here is the great Spirit, with his untold 
wealth." The language of the Otando people was the 
same as that of the Ashiras, so I had no difiiculty in un- 
derstanding him. He looked at me with perfect aston- 
ishment for a while, and then told me the trouble he had 
with his people on my account, since they did not want 
me to come into the country; "for," said they, "he brings 
the plague and death wherever he goes." " I told them 
that the plague had killed our people before we ever 
heard of you, and that the plague was in our country be- 
fore it went to the Ashira Land to kill the people there." 

"That was right," said I; "Mayolo,! love you; I kill 



154 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWAMFS. 

no people — I send no plague. I will be your friend, and 
the friend of your people." 

As Mayolo was talking to me, I took a good look at 
him. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and almost yellow 
in color ; his eyes were small and piercing. When young 
he had gone toward the sea, and in his trading had suc- 
ceeded in buying a gun, and, not .knowing how to load it, 
it had burst and taken off three of his fingers while firing 
at an elephant. 

After Mayolo had retired, a large goat and two enor- 
mous bunches of plantains were brought before me. I 
wish you could have seen the faces of my Commi men, 
the prospect of a good meal made them grin so compla- 
cently. 

Immediately after Mayolo had taken leave of me I 
went to see Igala. Poor Igala was very sick : the plague 
had seized him ; his body seemed a mass of putrid flesh. 
How glad he was to see me ! I do believe he would have 
died if I had not come to take care of him. There he 
lay in a large hut, with all my goods around him. I went 
to him, took hold of both his hands, and looked him in 
the face. He said, " Ohally, are you not afraid to get the 
plague by taking my hands ?" " No," said I ; ''Igala, I 
will take care of you as if you were my brother." Im- 
mediately I warmed some water in a kettle, and then 
washed him delicately, and he felt more comfortable. 

Poor Igala ! he was my right arm, my fighting man. 
I depended upon him. 

The next morning, opening my packages and boxes, I 
saw the sad havoc the Ashira thieves had made with my 
goods. They had stolen a great deal, but, strange to say, 
they had left a certain quantity in each parcel. 



CAPTURE OF A THIEF, I55 

I felt furious at the discovery. Oh, how sorry I was 
that Igalo and Macondai had remained behind : for, if 
they had not, the Ashiras would never have gone back to 
their own country : I would have made porters of them. 

I boldly accused Mintcho of the robbery, and seized 
the gun he had. The hypocritical rascal pretended to be 
in a rage at the discovery I had made ; he foamed at the 
mouth, and exclaimed, " Let me go back, Chally ; I will 
find the robbers, and kill them if they do not give up ev- 
ery thing you have lost." 

Just at this time his brother Ayagui came, with a gun 
which Eebouka had foolishly lent him. I ordered him 
to give up the gun ; he was unwilling, and threatened to 
shoot the first man who approached him. When I heard 
this, I ordered my four Commi men to level their guns at 
him and shoot him dead if in an instant he did not lay 
it on the ground. The gun was handed to Mayolo. 

The Asl^iras thought the end of Ayagui had come, and 
fled in the direction of the forest. We pursued thenq,, 
and captured one, whom I resolved to retain as a hostage 
for the restitution of my property ; but it so happened 
that the captive was the son of Adingo, an Ashira chief 
who was a good friend of mine. The guilty Ashiras 
were terribly frightened, and I shouted, " Bring the things 
back, and the boy shall be returned." 

Mintcho, in his flight, passed near Igala, who could 
have seized him, but, as his shelter was a little way off, 
Igala did not suspect his intentions, and let him escape, 
thinking that he was only going into the woods. 

The Otando people had seen by our prompt action of 
what stuff we were made. I regretted the necessity for 
such measures, but it w^as the flrst time since I began my 



156 THE COUNTMT OF THE D WABFS, 

travels that the natives had dared to rob me on the road, 
and the news would spread. All this was Eogueri's do- 
ings. 

In the mean time, Eebouka had secured our little pris- 
oner so tightly with ropes that he fairly moaned with 
pain. As I came up to him, he said, " Chally, you are 
my father's great friend. I am but a child ; I can not 
run away. TheAshiras will come back with all your 
stolen goods. I am your boy; I did not leave you in 
the woods, but followed you here. Do loosen the cords 
which hurt me so much." I ordered Eebouka to slacken 
the cords, which he did ; but he remonstrated firmly, say- 
ing that I was too kind ; that I did not know negroes ; that 
negroes were not children at that age. " Do you think," 
said he, " that a child could have come from the Ashira 
country here with the load this boy has carried ?" We 
then secured him under the veranda of my hut, and I set 
a watch over him during the night. Mayolo recommend- 
ed me to keep a good lookout on the boy, " for," said he, 
" the goods are sure to come back." Adingo was a pow- 
erful chief, and, as soon as he should hear of the cause 
of his son's captivity, he would threaten war, and, in or- 
der to secure peace, every thing would have to be re- 
turned. 

The moon was full, and it was quite light, so that ev- 
ery thing around could be easily seen. 

Eebouka was right ; I had loosened the cords too much, 
and the cunning little fellow escaped during that first 
night. I felt sorry, for I knew now that nothing that 
had been stolen would ever come back, especially with 
Macondai and Igalo in the hands of the Ashiras ; but, 
after all, I did not feel so badly as if some others of the 



PRAIEIE ON FIRE, 1 5 7 

Ashiras had run away. If I had only secured Mintcho, 
I assure you he would never have run away. Happily 
I had a great many goods left, and all the scientific in- 
struments necessary to make astronomical observations. 

The next morning Mayolo, being the head man of his 
clan, ordered the chiefs of the different villages of the 
clan to come to see me. They came, and a grand recep- 
tion took place. Mayolo made a great speech. I gave 
presents to the men who had come to fetch me out of 
the woods, and to all the leading men and women. Then 
Mayolo shouted, pointing to the goods, " This is the plague 
the Spirit brings." 

We had hardly been four days in Otando Land when 
Mayolo fell ill. How sorry I felt ! Fear seized upon his 
people. Surely I was an evil spirit. Olenda had died ; 
I had killed him, and now I wanted to kill Mayolo. 
Night after night I was kept awake with anxiety, for 
Mayolo was very unwell. I found that he had a disease 
of the heart ; his sufferings were intense at times, and his 
moanings filled me with distress. Surely if Mayolo was 
to die I could not advance a step farther inland. 

A few days after my arrival I had an uncomfortable 
fright; the Otando prairie became a sheet of fire, and 
threatened the destruction of the village of Mayolo. 
Should the fire get into the village, I said to myself, 
what a terrible explosion would take place ! So I imme- 
diately called the men and moved the powder into the 
woods. Happily, the natives prevented the fire from 
reaching the village. 

Time went on slowly, and one day, about noon, as I 
was wondering when Igalo and Macondai would come 
back to us, I heard guns fired in the forest. My Commi 



1 5 S THE CO TTNTR Y OF THE DWARFS, 

men at that time were round me. Perhaps the Ashi- 
ras were coming back with their phmder ! We looked 
toward the path which led into the forest, when lo ! what 
should we see but Macondai, my boy, and Igalo. They 
were safe. A wild cheer welcomed them, and they went 
directly to the olako or hospital, where Igala and Rebou- 
ka were confined with confluent small-pox, for, since my 
return Eebouka had been seized with the malady. Iga- 
lo left Macondai with them, and continued his way to 
our village, to give me mbolo, "good-morning salutation." 
The Otando people seemed almost as delighted as our- 
selves. We were again all together. I had now learned 
wisdom, and promised myself never to divide our party 
again, happen what might. After I had heard the news 
from Igalo, I went to the camp, and there I looked at 
my boy Macondai, and took his hand into mine. What 
a sight ! Poor Macondai was more frightfully disfigured 
than I could possibly have imagined, or than I can de- 
scribe, and I shuddered as I gazed upon him. A chill 
ran through me as I thought he might not yet recover, 
but I felt so thankful that I had all the medicines neces- 
sary for his proper treatment. 

" Macondai, my boy," I said, " you do not know how 
glad I am to see you. You do not know how often I 
have thought of you ; indeed, several times I wanted to 
go back for you." 

I seated myself on a log of wood, and all was silence 
for a little while. Then Macondai spoke and said, " Chal- 
ly, I have been very ill ; I thought I would die." The 
boy's throat was too full ; he could say no more. Then 
Igalo, his companion, became the spokesman, and I give 
you the whole of his speech just as it was written out 



IGALO'S STOBY. 161 

bj me at the time. '' Chally, after you left us we went 
to an olako in a plantation close by, where we slept. 
Ondonga took us there, saying that the head man was 
his ogoi (relation), and that he would take care of us. 
Then he said he was going to Ademba (Olenda village), 
to see how things were getting along in the village, and 
that he would return in two days. He borrowed from 
us our cutlass, saying that he would return it when he 
came back. This was the last we saw of him. Then 
the next day the chief came and said he wanted his pay 
for keeping us, as we staid in his olako. Finally he 
agreed that he would wait till Macondai could get well. 
" Four days after you had gone, some of the boys who 
had accompanied you returned. We knew that they 
could not have gone to the Otando country and got back 
in so short a time, and, being well aware themselves that 
we knew it, they said at once, ^ We have left Chally with 
Mintcho ^nd the other people one day's journey from 
the Otando country, for we have had palavers with the 
Otando people, and we were afraid to proceed farther 
for fear that the Otando people would seize us ;' and they 
also went away. Some time afterward Ayagui and 
Etombi made their appearance. They said they had left 
you well, but that you said you would not pay them un- 
til Macondai had come to the Otando ; and they added, 
' Make haste, Macondai, and cure yourself, so that we 
may go. If you were well now, I would say we must go 
in two days ; that would just give us time to rest and get 
food for the journey.' Then, as they were leaving, they 
V said they would come back in two days. This was the 
last we saw of them. Then the chief wanted us to move 
off. Macondai said he was so ill that he could not move ; 



162 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

' I would rather die where I am.' I did not want," said 
Igalo, "to go back to the plantation or to the village. I 
had liad enough of Olenda's village. Then the chief 
took another tack. ^What shall I do?' said he. 'On- 
donga, who brought you to me, has not again ^shown 
himself here; he has deserted you.' And he added, 
' These people have come back. Chally has seized two 
gangs of slaves because the Ashira stole some of his 
things, and Mintcho has come to see if he can get the 
things back, for one of the gangs seized belongs to him, 
and the other to Ondonga.' The chief left us after say- 
ing this, telling us that he was going to see a friend, and 
would come back in the evening, and w^e never saw him 
again. Three days afterward two old men and three 
young lads came ; they slept near us, and said, ' Igalo, 
you must not stop washing Macon dai's body ; we see that 
you wash only his leg.' By seeing me taking great care 
of Macondai's leg they thought we probably intended to 
leave, which we wanted to do as soon as Macondai was 
well enough to walk. Then they added, ' Go to the 
spring, and fetch plenty of water, and wash Macondai 
well, for this disease requires it.' Then," said Igalo, " I 
went to the spring, and during the time I was gone they 
plundered us of our things, seized the gun I had left be- 
hind, and Macondai's double-barreled gun, a box contain- 
ing beads and our clothes, and escaped to the woods, and 
when I came back with the waiter I learned our misfor- 
tune. They had come to the plantatian under the pre- 
text of getting plantains. 

" When I saw how things stood — that we had not a gun 
with which to defend ourselves — mistrusting the Ashi- 
ras, I thought best to leave the place, and said to Macon- 



THOUGHTS OF VENGEANCE, 163 

dai, ' Let us go.' Eebouka had told us the road before 
you left for the Otando, so we loaded ourselves with 
plantains which we got in the plantations, and left at 
once, with the utmost speed, the deserted olako, and we 
have been four nights and four days on the road." 

"Well done !" we shouted with one voice ; " well done, 
boys ! Macondai and Igalo, you are men ! you are men!" 

" Then," added Igalo, " I forgot to tell you that the 
man of the olako had told us that Mintcho and Ondon- 
ga had made a plot for a general robber}^, but that you 
watched them so closely that they could not accomplish 
it." 

I was so angry that I felt very much like going to the 
Ashira country, all of us armed to the teeth, when my 
followers should have quite regained their health and 
strength, and carrying fire and sword through all the vil- 
lages that belonged to the clan of Olenda, and raising 
the wholgy' country against them. I knew I could have 
done this easily, but then I had not come to make war. 

After hearing the pitiful story of Macondai and Igalo 
I went back to the village, and heated some water in one 
of my huge kettles ; then, returning to the camp, I gave 
poor Macondai a tepid bath with a sponge, and ordered 
some chicken soup to be prepared for the sufferer. 

How poor Macondai enjoyed his soup! It did me 
good to see him lap it up. I had forbidden him to eat 
any thing without my permission, telling him that I 
should feed him well, so that he might get strong, but 
that it would be some few days before I could let him 
eat to his heart's content, for he had been starved so long 
that I was afraid he would get ill if he was permitted to 
indulge his appetite to repletion. 



164 



THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS, 



Though filled with anxiety about Macondai, I slept 
^well that night. . We were all together again ; it was so 
nice, for getting all our party together again gave me a 
lively satisfaction. 




CHAPTEE XYI. 

TERRIBLE STORMS OF THUNDER. DAYS OF ANXIETY. 

SHOOTING AN ANTELOPE. BRIGHTER PROSPECTS. MAY- 

OLO HAS A HARD TIME WITH HIS DOCTORS. BASKET- 
MAKING. 

How strange the Otando prairie looks since the fire 
has burnt the grass ! Tens of thousands of gigantic 
mushroom-hke ant-hills are seen every where. I had 
never met such a great number before. I have given 
you a picture of these queer ant-hills in my "Apingi 
Kingdom." 

We ara-in the season of tornadoes, of thunder and^-i^ ^» 
lightning. Hardly a day passes that some terrible storm 
does not burst upon us ; and such thunder — how terrific ! 
We have not the slightest idea at home of what thunder 
is. Among the mountains here it is perfectly appalling 
and terrific. It is grand and sublime, and fills one with 
awe. The whole of the heavens at times seems entirely 
illuminated by the lightning ; and I find that it rains quite 
often during the day. The heaviest tornadoes in these 
regions seem to occu^r in the month of April. 

Days pass in the Otando country which are full of 
anxiety for me. Mayolo is sick, and some of my Commi 
men are down with the plague. Oh dear, how the time 
is going ! How far the head waters of the Nile are ! 
What a tremendous journey ahead! How many days 



166 THE CO UNTR Y OF THE D WARFS. 

of hunger do I see looming before me ; how many days 
of sickness and of anxious care ! But my heart is strong. 
God has been kind to me. The plague has spared me ; 
it has been around me ; it has lived with me, and in my 
own dwelling ; and I stand safe amid the desolation that 
it has spread over the country. I am surrounded here 
by savage men. May I live uprightly, so that, after I 
have left, the people may think well of me ! 

But when am I ever to leave this Otando country? 
Just as I am wondering over this, and thinking of the 
principal events that have taken place since I left the 
sea-shore, my revery 'is broken by the barking of my 
dogs in the prairie. I look, and what do I see ? A beau- 
tiful antelope closely pursued by my six dogs. An- 
deko, and Commi-Nagoumba, and Eover cling to the 
neck of" the antelope, with their teeth in the flesh, while 
Turk, Fierce, and Ndj^go are barking and biting the poor 
reature wherever they can. I run with the villagers in 
hase. Soon 1 am on the spot, and, aiming carefully at 
the beast, I bring it down with a single shot. It is a 
very fine hart. There is great joy in the village, and I 
divide the meat among the villagers, giving a big piece 
to friend Mayolo, who is delighted, for he says he is very 
fond of antelope's meat. < 

By the end of April things began to look bright. 
Mayolo was getting well ; Macondai was improving very 
fast, and Igala and Eebouka were almost recovered. But, 
as soon as Mayolo got better, he was more afraid than 
ever of witchcraft, and he and his people had a great 
time in "pona oganga." Bona oganga is a strange cere- 
mony, which I am about to describe to you. It was per- 
formed because Mayolo w^anted to know who were the 



^ 



THE DOCTOR, 169 

people who had bewitched his place, and made the plague 
come amiong his people. 

A great doctor had been sent for, and, after his arrival, 
he went into a hut, carrying with him a large bag. Soon 
afterward he came out, looking horribly. He was dressed 
in a most fantastic manner : his body was painted with 
ochre of three different colors — red, white, and black ; he 
wore a necklace formed of bones, the teeth of animals, 
and seeds ; around his waist was a belt of leather, from 
which dangled the feathers of the ogoloungoo ; and his 
head-dress was made of a monkey's skin. As he came 
out he spoke in an unnatural and hollow voice, then 
jfiUed a large basin with water, looked intently into it, 
and shook his head gravely, as if the signs were bad. 
Then he lighted a big torch, and looked steadily at the 
flame, as if trying to discover something, moved the torch 
over the water, shook his body terribly, smoked a condo- 
quai, made a number of contortions and gestures, and 
again spoke in a loud tone, repeating the same words 
over and over. The people, in the mean time, were si- 
lent, and looked at the great man attentively. Then he 
gazed steadily into the water again, and said, while the 
people listened in breathless silence, " There are people 
in your own village who want to bewitch it, and bring 
the plague and kill people." Immediately a great com- 
motion took place. The' crowd shouted, " Death to the 
sorcerers!" and rose up and swore vengeance. "The 
mboundou must be drunk !" cried Mayolo ; " we want no 
wizards or witches among us." The paths leading to 
the village were closed. No strangers were to be ad- 
mitted. 

The next morning the village was empty ; the people 



170 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

bad all gone into the woods. I could hear their voices ; 
they had gone to make some of their number drink the 
mboundou. 

Poor Mayolo really had a hard time with his different 
doctors. He was continually changing them, and they 
came from all the adjacent villages. At last he gave up 
the men doctors, and had a celebrated female doctor, an 
old, wrinkled woman, who had gained a great reputation. 
The visit of a physician among these people is very un- 
like that of a physician at home. This female doctor 
was a very singular person. She appeared to be about 
sixty years of age, and was short, and tattooed all over. 
When she came to make her visit she was dressed for the 
occasion. Her body was painted, and she carried a box 
filled with charms. When Mayolo expected her he was 
always ready, seated on a mat, and with a genetta-skin 
him. The female doctor would come in muttering 
ords which, nobody could understand ; then she would 
rub Mayolo's body with her hand, and mark his forehead 
with the chalk of the alumbi ; then she made a broad 
mark with the chalk on his chest, and drew stripes the 
whole length of his arms, muttering unintelligibly all the 
time; she then chewed the leaves of some medicinal 
plant, and spat the juice over Mayolo's body, especially 
on the affected partj near the heart, still muttering mag- 
ical words. Afterward she lighted a bunch of a peculiar 
kind of grass, and as it burned, made the flames almost 
touch the body of poor Mayolo. Two or three times it 
seemed as if the fire was burning him. She began the 
fire-ceremony at the sole of his foot, gradually ascending 
to the head, and, when the flames ceased, she made the 
smouldering fire touch his person. 



^^0 



PORTED S BASKET. 



Ill 



When I asked her why she used fire, she said that it 
was to prevent disease from coming into Mayolo's body 
from the outside. 

All this time the Otando people were busy making 
otaitais^ or porters' baskets. The otaitai is a very ingen- 
ious contrivance for carrying loads in safety on the backs 
of men. 1 have brought one of these baskets home, and 




OTAITAI. OR POKTEE'S BASKET. 



172 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS, 

preserve it as a keepsake. It is loDg and narrow ; the 
wicker-work is made of strips of a very tough cHmbing 
plant ; the length is about two and a half feet, and the 
width nine inches ; the sides are made of open cane- work, 
capable of being expanded or drawn in, so as to admit of 
a larger or smaller load. Cords of bast are attached to 
the sides, for the purpose of securing the contents. Straps 
made of strong plaited rushes secure the basket to the 
head and arms of the carrier, as shown in the preceding 
picture. 




CHAPTER XYII. 

DEPARTURE FROM THE OTANDO COUNTRY. TALK WITH 

MA YOLO. LIYING ON MONKEY - MEAT. ASTRONOMICAL 

STUDIES. LUNAR OBSERYATIONS. INTENSE HEAT. 

The day of my departure from the Otando country 
was approaching. Mayolo was getting better and bet- 
ter every day. So, two days after the ceremony I have 
described m the preceding chapter, I summoned May- 
olo and his people, and received them in state. I was 
dressed for the occasion, as if ready to start, with my 
otaitai our^my back. I was surrounded by my body- 
guard, and they also were ready for the start, each man 
carrying his otaitai. I spoke to the people in simili- 
tudes, in the African fashion : 

" Mayolo, I have called you and your people, that you 
may have my mouth. You black people have a saying 
among yourselves that a man does not stand alone — that 
he has friends. You Otando people have friends among 
the Apono and Ishogo people." "We will take you 
there !" shouted the Otandos. " I come to ask j^ou the 
road through the Apono country. Come and show me 
the road. It is the one I like best ; it is the shortest. I 
will make your heart glad if you make my heart glad. 
I have nice things to give you all, and I want the news 
to spread that Mayolo and I are two great friends, so 



174 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

that after I am gone people inay say, ' Mayolo was the 
friend of the Ognizi.' " The last part of the speech was 
received with tremendous shouts of applause, and cries 
of " Rovano ! Eovano !" 

Mayolo deferred his answer till the next day, I sup- 
pose he wanted to prepare himself for a great speech. 
The following morning he came before my hut, surround- 
ed by his people. Mayolo began : 

" When a hunter goes into the forest in search of 
game, he is not glad until he returns home with meat ; 
so Chally's heart will not be glad until he finishes what 
he wishes to do." Then he continued to speak for more 
than an hour, and ended by saying, " Chally, we shall 
soon be on the lo7ig road^ and go toward where the sun 
rises." 

As soon as the recovery of Maj^olo seemed certain, the 
people prepared to celebrate the event. Jar after jar of 
native beer came in, and in the evening the people of 
the village had a grand time. Mayolo was the most up- 
roarious of all, dancing, slapping his chest, and shouting, 
" Here I am, alive ! The Otando people said I should 
die because the Spirit had come, but here I am ! Here 
I am, Chally, well at last ! I tell you 1 am well, Oguizi !" 
and, to show me that he was well, he began to leap about, 
and to strike the ground with his feet, saying, " Don't 
you see I am well ? The Otando people said, the Apono 
said, as soon as they heard jou had arrived in my village, 
' Mayolo is a dead man !' As soon as I fell ill, they said, 
' Mayolo will never get up again ! Has not the Oguizi 
killed Remandji and Olenda V But here I am, alive and 
well ! Fire guns, that the people of the villages around 
may know that Mayolo is well !" As he went, he shout- 



ASTONISHmO THE NATIVES, 175 

ed, " I knew that the Oguizi did not like to see me ill. 
I am Mayolo ! I will take him farther on !" 

I never knew how good Mayolo was till I saw him in 
better health. He had a good, kind heart, though he was 
a savage, and we had nice talks together. He asked me 
all sorts of questions. When I told him that in my coun- 
try we had more cattle than he, but that they remained 
on our plantations, just as his goats did, he seemed in- 
credulous. Then I told him that as 1 went inland I 
would meet tribes of blacks who kept tame cattle. He 
said he had never heard of such people ; he could not 
believe what I said. But when 1 told him that there 
were countries where elephants were tamed, and that 
the people rode on their backs, the astonishment of May- 
olo and of his people became great. Then I showed 
him an illustrated paper. " Oh ! oh ! oh !" they shouted. 
In the evening Mayolo presented me with a splendid fat 
monkey>^ 

I should tell you that all this time I had really splen- 
did food. The monkeys were delicious, and so plentiful 
in the woods near Mayolo's village that we could have 
them wherever we pleased. It was in the season when 
they were fat. The nch^gai, the nkago, the miengai, 
and the ndova were also abundant, and we enjoyed eat- 
ing them, for those creatures seemed, in the months of 
April and May, to be nothing but balls of fat. It was 
the time of the year, too, when the forest trees bore most 
fruit, berries, and nuts. The miengai and the ndova 
were the species of animals which I preferred for food. 
I defy any one to find nicer venison in any part of the 
world. A haunch grilled on a bright chai^coal fire was 

simply delicious. " Horrible !" you will say ; " the idea 

H2 



1 76 THE COUNTRY OF THE D WARES. 

of eating monkeys ! It is perfectly dreadful !" and at 
the same time I am sure you will make a face so ugly 
that it would frighten you if you were to look at your- 
self in the glass. You may say, " Oh, a roast monkey 
must look so much like a roasted little baby! Fy!" 
Never mind. I can only say that if you ever go into 
the forests of Equatorial Africa, and taste of a monkey 
in the season when those animals are fat, you will ex- 
claim with me, " What delicious and delicate food ! how 
exquisite !" As I am writing these lines, the recollection 
of those meals makes me hungry. I wish I had a mon- 
key here, ready for cooking. I would invite you to par- 
take of it ; and I think you could eat the monkey with- 
out being accused of cannibalism. 
' The first time after my arrival at Mayolo's village that 
I took my photographic tent out of its japanned tin box, 
I called him to look at it after I had fixed it ready for 
use, but it was not easy to get him to come. He had a 
suspicion that there was witchcraft in it. Finally I suc- 
ceeded in getting him to look at the apparatus. I made 
him look at the prairie through the yellow window-glass 
by which the light came into the little tent while I was 
working with the chemicals or the plates. As he looked, 
the trees, the grass, the sunlight, the ant-hills, the people, 
the fowls, the goats, all appeared yellow to him. The 
good old fellow was frightened out of his wits. He 
thought I was practicing witchcraft. I believe if he had 
gone into the tent he would have died of fright. He 
stepped back, looked at me with fear and amazement, 
and went away, raising his hands, and with his mouth 
wide open. After a while he said that I had turned the 
world to another color. The next day all the people 
came to *=?ee the wonderful thing. 



ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS, 177 

I had so little to do that I gave my whole heart to the 
contemplation of the heavens. Many hours of the night 
were spent by me looking at the stars. When every one 
had gone to sleep, I stood all alone on the prairie, with a 
gun by my side, watching. There was no place upon 
our earth where one could get a grander view of the 
heavens than that I now occupied, for I stood almost un- 
der the equator, and the months of April and May in 
Mayolo were the months when the atmosphere is the 
purest ; for after the storms the azure of the sky was so 
intensely deep that it made the stars doubly bright in 
the blue vault of heaven. 

At that period the finest constellations of the southern 
hemisphere were within view at the same time — the con- 
stellations of the Ship, the Cross, the Centaur, the Scor- 
pion, and the Belt of Orion, and also the three brightest 
stars in the heavens, Sirius, Canopus, and a Centauri. 

How fond I was of looking at the stars ! I loved many 
of them ; they were my great friends, for they were my 
guides in their apparently ascending and descending 
course. How glad I was when one of these lovely friends 
again made its appearance after a few months' absence ! 
how anxiously I watched toward the east for its return ! 
and at last, as it rose from the dim horizon, and became 
brighter and brighter in ascending the heavens, how it 
delighted my heart ! Do not wonder at it when I say I 
love the stars, for without them I would not have known 
where to direct my steps. I watched them as a totter- 
ing child watches his mother. 

** Oft the traveler in the dark 
Thanks you for your tiny spark ; ^ 

Would not know which way to go 
If you did not twinkle so." 



178 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

Yenus shone splendidly, and threw her radiance all 
around ; red Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn were in sight ; 
the Southern Cross (so named on account of the four 
bright stars which form a cross) ; not far from the cross 
were the " Coal-sac," like two dark patches. No tele- 
scope powerful enough has ever been made to see any 
star there. There is no other spot of the kind in the 
starry heavens. 

The Magellanic clouds were also seen ; they were like 
two white-looking patches — especially the larger one — 
brightly illuminated as they revolve round the starless 
South Pole. Then, as if the scene was not beautiful 
enough, there stood that part of the Milky Way between 
the 50th and the 80th parallel, so beautiful .and rich in 
crowded nebulse and stars that it seemed to be in a per- 
fect blaze ; between Sirius and the Centaur the heavens 
appeared most brilliantly illuminated, and as if they were 
a blaze of light. 

At the same time^ looking northward, I could see the 
beautiful constellation of the Great Bear, which was 
about the same altitude above the horizon as the constel- 
lation of the Cross and of the Centaur, some of the stars 
in the two constellations passing the meridian within a 
short time of each other : y Urs8G Majoris half an hour 
before a Crucis, and Benetnasch eleven minutes before 
j3 Centauri. 

Where could any one have a grander view of the heav- 
ens at one glance? From a Ursse Majoris to a Crucis 
there was an arc of 125° ; and, as if to give a still grand- 
er' view of the almost enchanting scene, the zodiacal light 
rose after the sun had set, increasing in brilliancy, of a 
bright yellow color, and rising in a pyramidal shape high 



s 




TAKIISG AN OBSERVATION. 



THE ZODIA CAL LIGHT. 181 

into the sky, often so briglit that the contrast between 
the blue sky and this yellow glow was most beautiful. 
It often became visible half an hour after the sun had 
disappeared, and was very brilliant, like a second sun- 
set; it still increased in brilliancy, and often attained a 
bright orange-color at the base, gradually becoming faint- 
er and fainter at the top. It could be seen almost every 
night during the months of April and May. So if, under 
the equator, I had not the splendid Aurora Borealis to 
behold, I had the soft zodiacal light to contemplate. 

I would take astronomical observations whenever I 
could, so that I might know my latitude and longitude, 
and I took a great many at Mayolo. In the evening I 
would bring out my sextant, my policeman's lantern, my 
artificial horizon, my thermometer, and would work for 
hours. 

I will explain to you the use of the artificial horizon. 
It is so called on account of being an imitation of the 
natural horizon. Quicksilver is the best material. The 
heavenly bodies are reflected upon it, and you must lay 
your artificial horizon in such a way that the object you 
are watching is reflected on it, and then, with your sex- 
tant, you bring the direct object to its reflected image on 
the quicksilver, and the reading of the sextant gives' you 
the number of degrees, minutes, and seconds of altitude. 

It is always good to take two stars, one north and the 
other south of the zenith of fhe place. While at Mayolo 
I would often take one of the stars of the constellation 
of the Great Bear and one of the constellation of the 
Cross the same evening. Tou have to watch carefully 
when the star has reached its highest altitude, that is to 
say, when it appears neither to ascend or descend. 



182 



THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS, 



But the most difficult observations were those of the 
lunar distances for longitude. In those observations I 
generally used three sextants, one for the altitude of the 
moon, another for the altitude of a star, and another for 
the distance between the moon and the star. My watch, 
my slate, my pencil, and my policeman's lantern were 
also placed near me. The two artificial horizons were in 
front of me, and when every thing was ready I would 
take an altitude of the moon, then that of the star, then 
look at my watch, and note down the exact time of each 
observation ; then take four distances, and note the exact 
time each distance was taken, and then again the altitude 
of the star and moon in the reverse order of the first por- 
tion of the observation. 

The following example will show you how a lunar dis- 
tance is taken with a sextant : 



OBSERVATIONS FOR LUNAR DISTANCES. 



Date. 


Place. 


Time. 


Object. 


Alt. and 
Distance. 


Index 
Error. 


Temp. 


Resulting 
Longitude, E. 


1865. 

May 6 
it 


Mayolo (cont*^.) 


H. M. s, 

11 1 30 
11 4 30 
11 7 25 
11 9 42 
11 11 53 
11 13 27 
11 15 10 
11 18 2 


iLAlt. 
Jupiter Alt. 
Distance 
Distance 
Distance 
Distance 
Jupiter Alt. 
lAlt. 


121 12 40 
62 44 20 
85 43 40 
85 42 50 
85 42 20 
85 42 20 
67 31 

113 5 10 


on 6 30 
on 5 20 

>on0 40 


Fahr. 

77-0 ■ 


•11 7 15 

Planet E. 
of Moon. 


11 19 44 
11 22 7 
11 24 24 
11 26 18 
11 31 43 
11 33 10 
11 35 8 
11 36 40 


l.Alt. 
Jupiter Alt. 
Distance 
Distance 
Distance 
Distance 
Jupiter Alt. 
£Alt. 


112 16 
70 37 40 
85 38 
85 37 50 
85 37 
85 36 
76 22 

103 59 30 


on 6 50 
on 5 20 

^onO 40 


77-0 ' 


-11 11 15 

Planet E. 
ofMoon. 



Take as many lunar observations as you can east and 
west of the moon — the more the better — and you will 
be able to know your exact longitude with more certain- 



BUBNING HEAT, 183 

ty. It would be here too complicated to tell yon how to 
make the calculations, but I am sure that after a while 
many of you would be able to make them. 

By lunar observations, if sickness or some other cause 
has made you forget the day of the month, or even the 
year, you can find it again. Several times I lost my days 
while traveling. 

The heat was intense at Mayolo. The rays of the sun 
were very powerful, and raised the mercury nearly to 
150°. Just think of it ! In order to know the heat of 
the sun, the thermometer was only a glass tube support- 
ed by two little sticks. I had to take care that the rays 
of the sun fell always perpendicularly on the mercury. 







CHAPTER XYIII. 



SAYING GOOD -BY. — A PANIC - STKICKEN VILLAGE. — PACIFY- 



ING THE PEOPLES FEARS. — A TIPSY SCENE. 
ON A SPREE. LUNCH BY A RIVER SIDE. 



-MAJESTY 



On the 30th of May, early in the morning, there was 
great excitement in Mayolo's village. That morning we 
were to leave for the Apono country. Mayolo himself 
was to take me there, and we were all getting ready, the 
men carefully arranging their otaitais. The horns were 
blown as the signal for our departure, and we took the 
path in single file, Igala leading, and Mayolo and I bring- 
ing up the rear. 

" Good-by, Oguizi !" shouted the people. " Don't for- 
get us, Oguizi ! Come back, Oguizi !" 

Following a path in the prairie, we traveled directly 
^ast. Our road lay among the ant-hills, which could be 
counted by tens of thousands, of which I gave you a 
description in my "Apingi Kingdom." After a march 
of seven miles we came to Mount Nomba-Obana. May- 
olo once lived on the top of this mountain, but moved his 
village to its base, and afterward went to the place where 
I found him. At the foot of Nomba-Obana, on the some- 
what precipitous side, were great quantities of blocks of 
red sandstone, and in this neighborhood we saw the ru- 
ins of Mayolo's former village. Mayolo is always change 



A GENERAL PANIC. 185 

ing his home, for he fancies that the places he occupies 
are bewitched. 

At a distance of about three miles from Nomba-Obana 
we came to a stream called Ndooya, which we forded, 
but in the rainy season it must be a considerable body of 
water. We were approaching the Apono villages, and I 
felt somewhat anxious, for I did not know what kind of 
reception the people would give me. Groves of palm- 
trees were very abundant, and I could see numerous cal- 
abashes hanging at the tree-tops, ready to receive the sap, 
which is called palm wine. 

At last we came in sight of the village of Mouendi, 
where we intended to stay. The chief was a great friend 
of Mayolo. As soon as the inhabitants saw me a shout 
rent the air. All the people fled, the women carrying 
their children, and weeping. The cry was, "Here is the 
Oguizi ! Oguizi ! Now that we have seen him, we are 
going to die." I saw and heard all this with dismay. 

We entered the village. Not a soul was left in it ; it 
was as still as death. I could see the traces of hurried 
preparations for flight as we continued our march through 
the street of this silent village till we came near the ouan- 
dja. There I saw Nchiengain, the chief, and two other 
men, who had not deserted him. These were the only 
inhabitants we could see. The body of the chief was 
marked, striped, and painted with the chalk of the alum- 
bi. He seemed flUed with fear ; but the sight of Mayolo, 
his nJcaga^ " born the same day," seemed somewhat to re- 
assure him. 

Mayolo said, " Nchiengain, do not be afraid ; come 
nearer. Do not be afraid. Come!" Then we went 
under the ouandja, and seated ourselves. In the mean 



1 86 THE CO UNTR Y OF THE B WAJtiFS, 

time, I had taken a look at Nchiengain. He was a tall, 
slender old negro, with a mild and almost timid expres- 
sion of countenance. 

Then Mayolo said, " I told you, ISTchiengain, that I was 
coming with the Oguizi. Here we are. The Spirit has 
come here to do you good — to give you beads, and many 
nice things. Then he will leave you after a while, and 
go still farther on." 

Then I spoke to Nchiengain in his own language, for 
the Aponos speak the same language as the Ashira and 
Otando people. I said, " Nchiengain, do not be afraid of 
me. I come to be a friend ; I come to do you good. I 
come to see you, and then will pass on, leaving beads and 
fine things for your women and yourselves. Look here" 
— pointing to all the loads which my Otando porters had 
laid on the ground — "part of these things will be for 
your people," and immediately I put around his neck a 
necklace of very large beads, and placed a red cap on his 
head. I then gave necklaces of smaller beads to the two 
other men, and said, "ISTchiengain, you .will have more 
things, but your people must come back ; I do not like to 
live in a village from which all the people have run 
away. Mayolo's people did not run away, and you do 
not know what great friends we are. Call your people 
back." 

I then went around the village, and hung a few strings 
of beads to the trees, and Nchiengain shouted, "Come 
back, Aponos ; come back ! Do not be afraid of the 
Spirit. As you come back, look at the trees, and you 
will see the beads the Spirit has brought for us, and 
which he will give to us." The two men then went out 
upon the prairie and into the woods, and before sunset 



A WEARY MAMCH, 187 

a few men and women, braver than the rest, returned to 
the village, taking with them the beads which they had 
seen hanging from the branches of the trees. 

In the evening the bright fires blazing in all directions 
showed that the fears of the people had been allayed, and 
that many of them had returned to their homes. 

How tired I felt that evening ! for not only had I been 
excited all day, but I had left Mayolo's village in the 
morning with a heavy load on my back. Besides my 
revolvers, I carried a double-barreled gun, and in my bag 
I had fifty cartridges for revolvers, ten bullets for a long- 
range Enfield rifle, ten bullets for smooth-bore guns, ten 
steel-pointed bullets, and more than twenty pounds of 
small shot, buck-shot, powder, etc. In all, I carried a 
weight of over sixty pounds, besides my food, and my 
aneroids, barometers, policeman's lantern, and prismatic 
compassi I was so weary that I could not sleep. I re- 
solved not^b carry such big loads any more. 

But my work was not yet done : in the evening I had 
to make astronomical observations. As I was afraid of 
frightening the people, I had to do this slyly. I was 
glad when I had finished it, but I found by my observa- 
tions that we had gone directly east from Mayolo's vil 
lage. 

The next morning I walked from one end of the vil- 
lage of Mouendi to the other. The street was four hun- 
dred and forty-seven yards long, and eighteen yards 
broad. The soil was clay, and not a blade of grass could 
be seen. The houses were from five to seven yards long, 
and from seven to ten feet broad; the height of the 
walls was about four feet, and the distance from the 
ground to the top of the roof was seven or eight feet. 



1 8 S IRB CO UNTS. ¥ OF THE D WARFS. 

Back of the houses w^re immense numbers of plantain- 
trees. In the morning many of the people returned. 
Majolo and Nchiengain had a long talk together. JSTchi- 
engain was fully persuaded that I could do any thing I 
wished ; consequently, that I could make any amount of 
goods and beads for him. A grand palaver took place, 
and Mayolo began the day by making a speech. He 
said, 

" The last moon I sent some of my people to buy salt 
from you Apono. You refused to sell salt, and sent word 
that you did not want the Oguizi to come into your coun- 
try, because he brought the plague, sickness, and death. 
So I said to the Oguizi, ' Never mind ; there is a chief in 
the Apono country who is my nkaga (born the same 
day) ; I will send messengers to him ; he has big ca- 
noes, and I am sure he will let us cross the river with 
them.' Then I sent three of my nephews to you, Nchi- 
engain, my nkaga, with beads and nice things, and I said 
to them,.' Go and tell Nchiengain that I am coming with 
the Oguizi, who is on his way to the country of the Isho- 
gos.' You sent back your kendo, Nchiengain, with the 
words, ' Tell Mayolo to come with his Oguizi.' Here we 
are,E"chiengain, in your village, and I am sure you and 
your people will not slight us" {mpouguiza). 

I gave to Nchiengain one shirt, six yards of prints, one 
coat, a red cap, one big bunch of white beads and one 
of red, a necklace of very large beads, files, fire-steels, 
spoons, knives and forks, a large looking-glass, and some 
other trinkets, and then called the leading men and wom- 
en, and gave them presents also. This settled our friend- 
ship, for the people were pleased with the wonderful 
things 1 gave them. 



A JOLL T FROLIC, 189 

The news of my untold wealth spread far and wide. 
People from a neighboring yillagej who had been very 
much opposed to my journey through their country, 
made their appearance. When Nchiengain saw them, 
he said, "Go away! go away! now you come because 
you have smelt the niva (goods and nice things). You 
are not afraid now." 

After two or three days the people of Mouendi began 
to say, " How is it that two or three days ago we were so 
afraid of the Spirit ? Now our fears are gone, and we 
love him. He plays with our children, and gives beads 
to our women." When I heard them utter these words, 
I said, " Apono, that is the way I travel. Those fine 
things that I give you are the plague I leave behind me ! 
I bring not death, but beads ; so do not be afraid of 
me." They replied, '^Eovano ! Rovano !" ("That is so !") 

A few days passed away, and then the Apono and I 
became great friends. They began to wonder why they 
had been so frightened by the Ihamha (a new name giv- 
en me by the Apono), and soon all the people had re- 
turned to the village. Good old Nchiengain and May- 
olo had at last a jolly frolic together, and got quite tipsy 
with palm wine. I wish you had heard them talk. The 
way they were going to travel with me was something 
wonderful. Such fast traveling on foot you never heard 
of before. Tribe after tribe were to be passed by them. 
They were not afraid ; they did not care. We were even 
to travel by night over the prairie, for the full moon was 
coming. 

After a few days at Mouendi, Nchiengain with his 
Aponos, and Mayolo with his own people, took me far- 
ther on ; but before our departure Nchiengain and the 



1 90 THE CO UNTM Y OF THE B WAMFS, 

Apono went out before daylight to obtain the palm wine 
which had fallen into their calabashes during the night. 
By sunrise they were all tipsy, and Nchiengain was reel- 
ing, but he was full of enthusiasm for the journey ; May- 
olo also w^as tipsy, but not quite so far gone as his friend 
Nchiengain. When I saw tliis state of things I demol- 
ished all the mhomi (calabashes), spilling on the ground 
the palm wine they contained, to the great sorrow of the 
Aponos. 

" Where is Nchiengain ?" I inquired, w^hen we w^ere 
ready to start. He could not be found ; and, suspecting 
that he was somewhere behind his hut, drinking %aore 
palm wine before starting, I went to hunt for him. The 
old rascal, thinking I was busy engaged in looking after 
my men, was quietly drinking from the mbomi itself, 
with his head up and his mouth wide open. Before he 
had time to think, I seized his calabash, and poured the 
contents on the ground. Poor ISTchiengain ! he suppli- 
cated me not to pour it all away, but to leave a little bit 
for him. " I will go with you at once," he said ; " give 
me back my mug" (a mug I had given him) ; " oh. Spir- 
it, give it back to me !" By this time all the villagers 
had gathered about us. I put the mug on the ground, 
and told Nchiengain's wife to come and take it; and 
this gave great joy to the people, who exclaimed, " Nchi- 
engain, go quick ! go quick !" 

When we left I went to the rear, to see that all the 
porters were ahead ; but old Nchiengain lagged behind, 
for he could not walk fast enough. 

Three quarters of an hour afterward we found our- 
selves on the banks of a large river, the same which is 
described in my "Apingi Kingdom" — that kingdom be- 



A TIPSY KING. 191 

ing situated farther down the stream than the point at 
which we were now to cross. The river could not be 
seen from the prairie, for its banks were hned with a 
belt of forest trees. . We found on the banks of the 
stream Nchiengain's big canoe waiting for us, together 
with some smaller ones. The large canoe was very ca- 
pacious, but before all my luggage could be ferried over 
it was necessary to make seven trips. I sent Igala, Re- 
bouka, and Mouitchi to the other side with the first load 
to keep watch. The canoe had just returned from its 
seventh trip, and the men were landing, when suddenly 
I hearS the voice of Nchiengain in the woods shouting, 
" I am coming. Spirit ! Nchiengain is coming !" It was 
half past four P.M. A whole day had been lost. 

Not caring to take his majesty Nchiengain reeling 
drunk into my canoe, I jumped into it and ordered the 
men to push from the shore with the utmost speed. We 
started in^od time, for we were hardly off when I began 
to distinguish the king's form through the woods, and 
when he readied the shore we were about fifty yards 
distant. We heard him shout " Come back ! come back 
to fetch me ;" but the louder he called the more deaf we 
were. " Go on, boys !" I ordered. As our backs were 
turned to the king, of course we could not see him. Fi- 
nally we landed, and, taking my glass, I saw poor Nchien- 
gain gesticulating on the other side, apparently in a dread- 
ful state, thinking that I had left him. The canoe was 
8§nt back for him, and a short time afterward he w*as 
landed on our side of the river, to his great delight. 
Two or three times during the passage he lost his equi- 
librium, but he did not fall. When he joined us he w^as 
about as tipsy as when I left him in the morning. 

I 



192 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

Poor Mayolo, who had been continually tipsy since we 
had left his village, fell ill during the night, and a very 
high fever punished him for his sins. 

We built our camp where we had landed. A thick 
wood grew on the bank of the river, and firewood was 
plentiful. In the evening Nchiengain was sober again, 
and before ten o'clock every body was fast asleep except 
three of my Commi men, who were on the watch. The 
dogs were lying asleep, and almost in the fire. Every 
thing now promised well, and I was anxious to hurry for- 
ward as rapidly as possible on the following day. 

At a quarter past six o'clock A.M. we left our encamp- 
ment, every body being perfectly sober. Soon afterward 
we emerged from the woods into a prairie, and passed 
several villages, the people of which seemed to have heard . 
wonderful stories of my wealth. They came out, and 
followed me with supplies of goats and plantain, and 
begged Nchiengain and his people to remain with the 
Oguizi. In the villages they went so far as to promise 
several slaves to Nchiengain if he would do this. Hun- 
dreds of these villagers, while following us, gazed at me, 
but if I looked at them they fled in alarm. Finally, see- 
ing that it was useless to follow, they went back, shout- 
ing to Nchiengain and to Mayolo that it was their fault 
if I did not stop. My porters joined them in their grum- 
bling, for the fat goats tempted them. 

About midday we halted in a beautiful wooded hol- 
low, through which ran a little rivulet ,of clear water^ 
and by its side we seated ourselves for breakfast. I was 
really famished. After spending an hour in eating and 
resting, we started again. When we came out ot the 
wood we saw paths leading in different directionsr, one 



THE FBAIBIE OF STONUS, 



193 



going directly east to several Apono villages. Nchien- 
gain was opposed to our passage through them, and there- 
fore we struck a path leading in a more southerly direc- 
tion, or S. S.E. by compass. For three hours we j ourneyed 
over an undulating prairie dotted with clumps of woods, 
and then crossed a prairie called Matimbie irimba (the 
prairie of stones), the soil of which was covered with lit- 
tle stones containing a good deal of iron. The men suf - 
fered greatly as they stepped upon them. 




CHAPTEK XIX. 

RUMOKS OF WAK. THROUGH A BUENINa PRAIRIE. IM- 
MINENT PERIL. NARROW ESCAPE FROM A HORRIBLE 

DEATH. A LONELY NIGHT-WATCH. 

War began to loom up as we reached the southeast 
end of the Matimbie irimba. We came to a village 
called Dilolo, the path we were following leading direct- 
ly to it, and as we approached we found that the place 
had been barricaded, and that it was guarded outside by 
all its fighting men. On the path charms had been 
placed, to frighten away the Aponos. The men were 
armed with spears, bows and arrows, and sabres. When 
we came near earshot, having left the path with the in- 
tention of passing by the side of the village, they vented 
bitter curses against Nchiengain for bringing the Oguizi 
into their country — " the Oguizi who comes with the evi- 
va (plague) into villages," they shouted. " Do not come 
near us;* do not try to enter 6ur village, for there will 
be war !" The war-drums were beaten, and the men ad- 
vanced and retired before us, spear in hand, as if to 
drive us away, for they thought we had come too near. 
We marched forward, nevertheless. So long as the Apo- 
no porters did not show the white feather, I felt safe ; 
they also had their spears and their bows, and my men 
held their guns in readiness. Suddenly fires appeared 
in different parts of the prairie. The people of Dilolo 
had set fire to the grass, hoping that we might perish in 
the flames. The fire spread with fearful rapidity, but 



IN PERIL. 195 

we soon came to a place where our path made a turn by 
the village, and we reached the rear of the place. At 
that moment we observed a body of villagers moving in 
our direction, evidently intending to stop our progress. 
Presently two poisoned arrows were shot at us. I thought 
we were going to have a fight, but ordered my men to 
keep cool, and not to fire. JSTchiengain walked all along 
the line to cheer up his men, and shouted that " Is'chien- 
gain's people were not afraid of war," but at the same 
time he begged me not to fire a gun unless some of our 
people were hit with the arrows. 

We continued our march, keeping close together, so 
that we might help each other in case of need. My men 
were outside the path, between jS'chiengain and the Di- 
lolo people, with their guns ready to fire when I gave 
the word. The villagers, mistaking our forbearance for 
fear, became bolder, and the aflFair was coming to a cri- 
sis. A warrior, uttering a fierce cry of battle, came to- 
ward us, and, with his bow bent, stood a few yards in 
front of Eapelina, threatening to take his life. I could 
see the poison on the barbed arrow. My eyes were fixed 
upon the fellow, and I felt very much like sending a 
bullet through his head. Plucky Eapelina faced his en- 
emy boldly, and, looking him fiercely in the face, uttered 
the war cry of the Commi, and, lowering the muzzle of 
his gun, advanced two steps, and shouted in the Apono 
language that if the Dilolo did not put down his bow he 
would be a dead man before he could utter another word. 
By this time all my Commi men had come up, with the 
muzzle of their guns pointing toward the Dilolo, await- 
ing my order to fire. The bow fell from the warrior's 
hand, and he retreated. 



196 TME COUNTMY OF THE DWAEFS, 

Nchiengain behaved splendidly. He began to curse 
the Dilolo people, and said to them, " You will hear of 
me one of these days ;" and my Aponos threw down their 
loads and got ready to fight. 

" Let us hurry," I said to the men ; " don't you see the 
country is getting into a blaze of fire ? We must get out 
of it." 

I fired a gun after we had passed the village, and the 
inhabitants were terrified at the noise. Nchiengain was 
furious, and again shouted to the enemy, " You will see 
that I am not a boy, and that my name is JSTchiengain !" 

The discomfited warriors of Dilolo gradually left us, 
probably thinking that the fire, so rapidly spreading, 
would do the work they could not perform ; and, indeed, 
while we had escaped a confiict through our good com- 
mon sense, we were now exposed to a far greater danger. 
The fire was gaining fearfully. The whole country 
seemed to be in a blaze. Happily, the wind blew from 
tiie direction in which we were going; still the flames 
were fast encircling us, and there was but one break in 
the circuit it was making. I shouted, " Hurry, boys ! 
hurry ! for if we do not get there in time, we shall have 
to go back, and then we must fight, for we will have to 
get into the village of Dilolo." So we pressed forward 
with the utmost speed, and finally our road lay between 
two walls of fire, but the prairie was clear of fiames 
ahead. Although the walls of fire were far apart, they 
were gaining upon us. " Hurry on, boys !" I exclaimed ; 
" hurry on !" We walked faster and faster, for the smoke 
was beginning to reach us. The fire roared^as it went 
through the grass, and left nothing but the blackened 
ground behind it. We began to feel the heat. The 



THBOUOH THE FIRE. 197 

clear space was getting narrower and narrower. I 
turned to look behind, and saw the people of Dilolo 
watching us. Things were looking badly. Were we 
going to be burned to death ? Again looking back to- 
ward Dilolo^ I saw that the fires had united, and that the 
whole country lying between ourselves and Dilolo was a 
sheet of flame. 

Onward we sped, Nchiengain exhorting his men to 
hurry. We breathed the hot air, but happily there was 
still an open space ahead. We came near it, and felt 
relieved. At last we reached it, and a wild shout from 
Nchiengain, the Aponos, and my Commi rent the air. 
We Y^eve saved, but nearly exhausted. 

I said to my Commi men, " Are we not men ? There 
is no coming back after this ! Boys, onward to the Elv- 
er Nile !" They all shouted in reply, " We must go for- 
ward ; we are going to the w^hite man's country." 

Between four and five o'clock we came to another 
wood, in the midst of which was a cool spring of water. 
We encamped there for the night, and not far in the dis- 
tance on the prairie we could see the smoke coming out 
of a cluster of Apono villages. They dreaded our ap- 
proach. In the silence of the twilight, the wind from 
the mountains brought to us the cries of the people. 
We could hear the shrieks and the weeping of the wom- 
en, and the beating of the war-drums. Afterward the 
people came within speaking distance, and shouted to us, 
" Oh, Nchiengain, why have you brought this curse upon 
us ? We do not want the Oguizi in our country, who 
brings the plague with .him. We do not want to see the 
Ibamba. The Ishogo are all dead ; the Ashango have 
all left ; there is nothing but trees in the forest. Go 



198 THE GO UNTR T OF THE D WARES, 

back ! go back !" They yelled and shouted till about 
ten o'clock, and then all became silent, and soon after- 
ward my people were asleep by the fires which they had 
lighted. They all suffered from sore feet. Igala, Mou- 
itchi, and Rapelina were to keep w^atch with me, while 
my other Commi men were resting ; but they, too, after 
a while, went to sleep. Even our poor dogs were tired, 
and were also sound asleep. 

I stood all alone, watching over the whole camp, so 
anxious that I could not sleep. Things did look dark 
indeed. A most terrible dread of me had taken posses- 
sion of the people. Something had to be done to allay 
their fears, or my journey would come to an end. 

How quiet every thing was ! The rippling of the wa- 
ter coming from the little brook sounded strangely in the 
midst of the silent night. I looked at the strange scene 
around me. Each of my men had his gun upon his arm, 
but I thought of how useless the weapons would be in the 
hands of men so weary, and sunk in deep sleep. If, that 
night, any one of you could have been there, you would 
have seen Paul Du Chaillu leave the camp and the woods, 
and then have seen him all alone upon the prairie, stand- 
ing like a statue, no one by him, his gun in one hand, his 
revolvers hung by his side. The stars shone beautifully 
above his head, as if to cheer him in his loneliness, for 
lonely and sad enough he felt. Then, with an anxious 
feeling, he looked through his spy-glass in the direction 
of the Apono villages to see if any thing was going on 
there. No. All there, too, was silent as death. 

At three o'clock in the morning I awakened Igala and 
some of my Commi boys, and told them to keep watch 
while I tried to get a little sleep. 



CHAPTER XX. 

4 DEPUTATION FEOM THE VILLAGE. A PLAIN TALK WITH 

THEM. — A BEAUTIFUL AND PROSPEROUS TOWN. CHEEK^ . 

FUL CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. MORE OBSERVATIONS. 

Before daylight I arose, and again went out upon the 
prairie, but saw no one there from the Apono villages, 
and heard no war-drumming. After a while a deputa- 
tion of three men came from the village to Nchiengain, 
and said, " Why have you brought this Oguizi to us ? He 
will give us the eviva." 

" No," Baid JSTchiengain ; " months ago the eviva was in 
the country. I myself got it ; people died of it, and oth- 
ers got over it. The eviva has worked where it pleased, 
and gone where it pleased, and that when the Spirit had 
never made his appearance. He has nothing to do with 
the eviva. Go and tell your people that JSTchiengain said 
so, and that the Spirit has only been a few days in our 
country." The men went off without seeing me, for 
Nchiengain was afraid they might be frightened. 

Toward ten o'clock Nchiengain andMayolo were sent 

for, and, a short time after they had gone, some of Nchi- 

engain's people came for me, saying that the Aponos 

wanted to see me, and that Nchiengain was talking to 

them ; so, followed by all my Commi men, armed to the 

teeth, I started. We left the wood and entered the 

beautiful prairie, and soon I saw Nchiengain standing 

12 



200 TEE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

up, and by him, seated in rows upon the ground in a 
semicircle, were several hundreds of Aponos. • As I ap- 
proached they began to move backward, each row trying 
to hide behind the other. Then Nchiengain said, ^' Do 
not be afraid," and they stopped. 

Nchiengain said to me, in a loud voice, so that every 
one could hear, " The Aponos sent for me this morning 
to ask me to tell you to come out of that wood. They 
want to see you, the great Spirit. Then they want you 
to go on the top of that hill" (pointing to it), " and stay 
there three days, so that the people may come and look 
at you, and bring you food." 

".No," said I, in a loud voice, " no, I shall not go on 
the top of that hill. I am angry with the Apono people, 
for they curse me by saying that I bring the eviva with 
me. Has not the eviva been here long ? Did not the 
people die of it long before they ever heard of me ?" 

"Eovano ! Rovano !" (" That is so !") shouted the Apo- 
nos. 

"Aponos," I resumed, "do not be frightened; I will 
make you hear a noise you never heard before," and I 
ordered my men to discharge their guns. The Apono 
chiefs stood by me, and I said to them, "Do not be 
afraid." Nevertheless, a good many of the people fled. 
The chiefs did not move. Then, putting beads around 
their necks, I said to them, " Go away in peace ; the Spir- 
it loves the Aponos." The people departed, and I went 
back into the wood, for the heat was intense on the 
prairie. 

In the afternoon the Aponos became emboldened, and 
hundreds of them came to get a look at me, taking care 
not to come too near. Presents of goats, fowls, ground- 



A GREAT SENSATION. 201 

nuts, sugar-cane, and plantains were sent to me. After- 
ward a deputation came to ask me to leave the wood, 
and to come to a wood nearer their villages, which I did. 
Then the different chiefs of the adjacent Apono villages 
begged me to become their guest, and to remain in their 
villages. 

After consultation with Nchiengain, it was arranged 
that we were to go to a village called Mokaba, and ac- 
cordingly we left om- encampment, and were received in 
the midst of the most intense excitement by the villagers, 
who exclaimed, "The Spirit is coming!" How fright- 
ened they seemed to be ! 

The chief came and walked around me, fanning me 
with a fan made of the ear of an elephant, and saying, 
"Oguizi, do not be angry with me; Oguizi, do not be 
angry with me. Oguizi, 1 never saw thee before ; I am 
afraid of tliee. I will give thee food ; I will give thee 
all I have r^ 

That night the village of Mokaba was as silent as the 
grave. The next morning immense crowds of Aponos 
came to see me. The noise was perfectly deafening. 
The people hid themselves behind the trees, in the tall 
grass around the villages, and behind the huts, or wher- 
ever they could see me without being seen by me. If 
perchance I cast my eyes upon one of them, he ran away 
as fast as his legs could carry him. 

I spent the evening in making a great number of as- 
tronomical observations. The Aponos, when they saw 
me do this, were seized with fear, and the next morning 
they came to ask me to go back into the wood, promis- 
ing that they would bring food to me. I refused, saying, 
" I was in the wood, and you told me to come to Mokaba ; 



202 THE GOUNTHY OF THE DWARFS, 

and now that I am here, you ask me to go back into the 
wood. I will not go. Do not be afraid ; I am not an 
evil spirit. I love to look at the stars and at the moon." 

The chief of Mokaba, named Kombila, seemed to be a 
nice fellow, of medium height, black as jet, with several 
huge scars of sabre wounds on his back and arms, show- 
ing that he was a great fighter, I liked him very much. 

The village of Mokaba was beautiful. It was situated 
on a hill in the prairie, just at the foot of the woody moun- 
tains which form a part of the immense equatorial range. 
From the mountains came a stream of clear water, which 
ran at the foot of the hill upon which Mokaba was built. 
The mountains in the background seemed to be very high, 
and the country was picturesque. The village was not 
large, but its houses were nice, and each family possessed a 
square yard, around which the dwellings were built. The 
whole place was adorned with three squares, in the midst 
of which grew many gigantic palm-trees. Back of the vil- 
lage there were also great numbers of palm-trees, which 
were planted by the parents of the present inhabitants. 
Goats and chickens were abundant. The plantain, how- 
ever, is the food of the country, and the hills surrounding 
Mokaba were covered with plantain groves. Handsome 
lime-trees, covered with little yellow blossoms, were also 
to be seen every where. 

The grass of the prairie was yellow and tall, and re- 
minded me of the wheat-fields at home when ready for 
the scythe. Each of the palm-trees around the village, 
grown from seeds planted by the people, had its owner. 
The palm is a precious tree, for each man draws from it 
his palm wine, and makes oil from the nuts, which, when 
they are ripe, are of a beautiful rich dark yellow color. 



SINGULAR PASTIME, 203 

There was an atmosphere of comfort about Mokaba, 
and the whole country adjacent to it, which did my heart 
good. The Mokabans are a jolly people when they do 
not fight with their neighbors. They are fond of danc- 
ing, and the ocuya is one of the principal amusements. 
This is a queer pastime, and I will try to describe it for 
you. 

One day, while I was quietly seated with Kombila, I 
heard at the end of the village a great noise, caused by 
loud singing, and immediately afterward saw a crowd of 
people walking backward, beating their hands and sing- 
ing, with their bodies bent almost double, and all shout- 
ing, dancing, and singing at the same time. Then I saw 
a tall figure suddenly emerge from behind a house and 
come into the street, and Kombila exclaimed, " The ocu- 
ya ! the ocuya !" 

The t^-ll figure seemed to be about twelve feet in height. 
It wore aJi)ng dress made of grass-cloth, and reaching 
nearly to the ground. The creature's face was covered 
with a white mask painted with ochre. The lips of the 
mask appeared to be open, showing that the two upper 
and middle incisor teeth were wanting. The funniest 
part of the costume was that the mask had a head-dress, 
looking for all the world like a lady's bonnet, made of a 
monkey's skin, with the tail hanging on the back, while 
the part of the bonnet around the face was surrounded 
with feathers. The figure was a man on stilts. 

But troubles and cares again came to destroy the en- 
joyment I had in their lively village. Mayolo fell ill 
once more, and grew worse so rapidly that his people de- 
termined to take him back to his village. A lilter was 
made on which to carry him. But his own people said 



204 THE GOUNTEY OF THE DWARFS. 

he had become jealous, and did not want any of them to 
get my fine things ; he wanted them all for himself. 

The party left early in the morning. In the afternoon 
news came that the chief of the village of Dilolo had 
died that day. Fortunately, the people of Mokaba did 
not like him, and they shouted with joy when they heard 
the news. He wanted war when he tried to prevent the 
Oguizi and his people from passing, and if war had come 
at that time he would have been killed. They all shout- 
ed, " He had aniemba, and aniemba has killed him ! 
He will give us no more trouble ; he will prevent no 
more people from coming to. us ! He will not stop the 
people who come to sell us salt !" 

Two days after the departure of Mayolo, some of the 
Otandos, with some of the Mouendi people, came back 
to Mokaba. They came for Ncliiengain. He was want- 
ed. I never learned the reason. No doubt his people 
were afraid to leave him longer with me. Mayolo's life 
was now despaired of, and the Otando people told me 
slyly that they had mpoga-oganga, and that the oganga 
had said that the Nchiengain people had put things in 
the palm wine Mayolo drank in order to kill him. 

Ij^chiengain came to me with a frightened air to tell 
me he had to go. He seemed to be afraid of me. I be- 
lieve he thought I was going to kill him, as I had killed 
Eemandji, Olenda, and Mayolo, and that now his turn 
had come. I said to him," We are great friends. Make 
a good speech to the Apono for me, and I will give you 
such nice presents !" He promised to do it. 

So all the Mokaba people were called. I^chiengain 
came out, and made a great speech. He said, " Kombila 
and Mokaba people, let the people who are to go with 



FRIENDLY PAMTING, 205 

the Spirit come before me.'^ They came and seated 
themselves on the gromid, and I then gave to each a pres- 
ent, or his pay in goods, beads, trinkets. Then Nchien- 
gain said, " Kombila, the Oguizi was brought to me by 
Mayolo, and before he reached Mayolo's village he pass- 
ed through many countries of the blacl^ man. Now I 
leave him in your hands; pass him to the Ishogos. 
Then, when you leave him with the Ishogos, tell them 
they must take him to the Ashongos. After you leave 
him with the Ishogos your hands will be cleared, for you 
will have passed him over your tribe and clans. I am 
going ; I leave him in your hands !" They all shouted, 
" We will take the Oguizi to the Ishogos ! we will start 
the day the Oguizi wishes to start ! Wp are men ! the 
Mokaba people are men !" 

Then Nchiengain added, " Wherever he goes, let the 
people give him plenty of goats, fowls, plantains, and 
game ! There was a great shout of "Kovana !" — " That 
is so ! that is so !" " Do not be afraid of him," shouted 
Nchiengain ; " see how well he has treated us ! At first 
we were afraid of him ; after a while our fears ceased. 
He will treat you just the same. He paid us when we 
left the village, and when we leave he gives us a parting 
present. Take him away to-morrow. Start for the coun- 
try of the Ishogos. Hurry, for he does not want to tarry." 

Then, in the presence of the people, he returned to me 
the brass kettle I had lent him for cooking his food, 
and the plate I had given him, and said to me, "Oguizi, 
good-by ! I have not mpouguiza (slighted) yon ; I go 
because I must go." As he disappeared behind the 
palm-trees he shouted again, " Oguizi, I have not mjpou- 
guiza you!" I answered, "No, ISTchiengain, I am not 
angry with you : I am only sorry we part." 



Sii^ 


^^^^B 


l^^^^^m^^m. 





CHAPTEE XXI. 

GEEAT EXCITEMENT IN THE TILLAGE. A DESERTED TOWN. 

THE INHABITANTS FRIGHTENED AWAY. AFRAID OF 

THE EVIL EYE. THE AUTHOR TAKEN FOR AN ASTROLO- 
GER. — LOST AMONG THE PLANTATIONS. 

On the morning of the 10th of June there was great 
excitement in the village of Mokaba. The Apono, head- 
ed by Kombila, were ready to take me to the Ishogo 
country. All the porters wore the red caps I had given 
them, and had put on their necklaces of beads. At a 
quarter past ten o'clock, just as we started, I ordered 
guns to be fired, to the immense delight of the Mokaba 
people. Kombila gave the word for departure, and one 
by one we took the path leading to the hills which lay di- 
rectly east of the village, and soon afterward we were in 
the woods, passing plantation after plantation that had 
been abandoned, for they never planted twice in the 
same place. We finally arrived at a plantation called 
Njavi, where thousands of plantain-trees were in bearing, 
and where sugar-cane patches were abundant. Fields of 
pea-nuts were also all around ns soon afterward. We 
rested to take a meal, and, as Njavi was situated on the 
plateau, I had a good view of the country. 

When we resumed our^march eastward the Apono 
were in great glee, for they had become accustomed to 
me. Kombila was filled with pride at the idea that he 




APONO AND ISHOGO YILLAaH. 



A VILLA GE ALAMMED, 209 

was going to take the Spirit to the Ishogo country. The 
men were talking loudly, and I saw that there was no 
chance for killing game. The country was splendid. 
The hills had been getting higher and higher till we 
had reached Njavi, but since leaving that point we had 
been going down the slope. We crossed a dry stream 
with a slaty bottom, and soon afterward came to a stream 
called Dougoundo, the Apono porters walking as fast as 
they could. Toward four o'clock we reached the large 
Ishogo village of Igoumbie, but found it deserted. The 
few men who saw us ran into their houses and shut their 
doors — for they had doors in Igoumbie. The people re- 
minded me of frightened chickens hiding their heads in 
dark corners. A few men had been so alarmed that they 
had lost the power of walking, and as I passed did not ut- 
ter a single word nor move a step. We walked through 
the whole length of the street, then got into the woods, 
and stopped. Kombila said to me, " Let me. Spirit, go 
to the village ;" and he went with a few of his men. 
Soon afterward an Ishogo man came with Kombila, and 
asked me to remain in his village. " The Mokaba people 
are our friends," he said ; '^ they marry our daughters ; 
how can we let them pass without giving them food V 
Rebouka being lame (one of my heavy brass kettles hav- 
ing fallen on one of his feet), I consented. 

Now I found that I could no more know who was the 
chief of a village. Kombila, I began to suspect, was not 
the chief of Mokaba. The chiefs had a superstition that 
if I knew who they were I would kill them. 

In the Ishogo village I was among a new people, and, 
indeed, their appearance was strange to me. Little by 
little they came back to the village, for the Mokaba peo- 



210 THE CO UNTU Y OF THE D WARES. 

pie were great friends of theirs, and they told the Isho- 
gos not to be afraid. Many of the villagers, as they had 
to pass by me, would put their hands over their eyes so 
as not to see me. They were afraid. 

I took a walk through the long street of that strange 
Ishogo village, and counted one hundred and ninety- 
one houses. The houses were much larger than those 
of many other tribes, and were from twenty to twenty- 
two feet in length, and from nine to twelve feet in width. 
Each had a door in the middle from two to two and a 
half feet in width, and about three and a half feet high. 
The height of the lower walls was four and a half feet, 
and the distance to the top of the roof eight or nine feet. 
The doors of the houses were very tasteful. Each own* 
er seemed to vie with his neighbor in the choice of the 
prettiest patterns. Every door was carved and painted 
in different colors. On the opposite page is a represen- 
tation of some of the patterns, so you may judge for 
yourself of the taste of the Ishogos. 

As I walked through the village, I thought what a great 
Spirit I must have seemed to the savage people of the in- 
terior of Africa. When I passed the houses of Igoum- 
bie, some of the people, thinking I was tiot looking at 
them nor at their dwellings, partially opened their doors 
to get a peep at me ; but if I happened to glance at them 
they immediately retired, evidently believing that I had 
an " evil eye." 

I remained a day in the village of Igoumbie to make 
friends, so that the news might spread among the Isho- 
gos that I was not an evil spirit ; but most of them were 
so shy that when they had to pass the door of my hut 
they put their hands up to-the.^ide of their face so that 



SUSPECTED OF WITCHCRAFT, 



211 




I6H0G0 HOUSES, WITH ORNAMENTAL DOOES. 



they might not see me. Yet, in spite of their shyness, 1 
made friends with many, and gave them beads. 

One night the village was filled with fear. The peo- 
ple could not understand my doings. They were unable 
to discover what I meant by looking at the stars and at 
the moon with such queer-looking things as the instru- 
ments I held in my hand, and with dishes of quicksilver 
before me in which the moon and the stars were reflect- 
ed. The aneroids, barometers, thermometers, boiling ba- 
rometers, watches, and policemen's lanterns puzzled them 
extremely. They could not see why I should spend the 
greater part of the night with all those things around me. 

I could not afford to lose much time in this village, for 



% 



212 THE COTTNTBT OF THE DWARFS. 

I had been so much detained before by the plague and 
other impediments, which have already been described, 
that it became necessary for me to go. I had still to pass 
through the territory of tribe after tribe ; the Congo Riv- 
er was far to the eastward of us ; the sources of the Nile 
were far away. So I said to Kombila, " Let us hurry. 
Take me to the farthest Ishogo village that you can. 
There we will remain a little while, and then I shall 
know all about the Ishogos." 

We left Igoumbie, and once more plunged into the 
great forest. As I lost sight of the village, I heard the 
inhabitants crying loudly, "The Spirit has gone! the 
Spirit has gone !" 

Suddenly, toward midday, the Apono porters stopped. 
I saw that a palaver was about to take place. I ordered 
my Commi men to be in readiness in case of any trou- 
ble. Kombila said, " Spirit, the people of Igoumbie want- 
ed to have you among them. We said nlshi (no). The 
loads you have are heavy, and my people do not want to 
go farther unless you give them more beads, for their 
backs are sore." 

I answered, " I have a heart to feel, and eyes to see. 
I intend to give to each of you a present before Ve part. 
Go ahead." The four elders or leaders of the party 
shouted, " It is so ! it is so !" So we continued our 
march, and passed several villages, but the people were 
dumb with astonishment and fear. 

* In the country through which we were traveling, paths 
led from village to village, and when we came to a set- 
tlement we had to go through the whole length of it. 
Some of the villages in which the people had heard of 
my approach were perfectly deserted. In others the in- 



CAMPING OUT, 213 

habitants had hidden themselves in their huts, and we 
saw none of them. 

Once we lost our way, having taken the wrong path, 
and, being bewildered among the plantations of the na- 
tives, we had a hard time. Finally we came to a stream 
which the men recognized, and ascended it ; but the day 
was then far advanced, and we concluded to build our 
camp. We all felt very tired, the men having sore feet 
on account of little ferruginous pebbles which covered 
the ground. After our fires had been lighted, and the 
men had smoked their pipes, and put the soles of their 
feet as near the fire as they could without burning them, 
we began to have a nice talk, and I asked the Aponoe 
many questions. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

FIRST SIGHT OF A VILLAGE OF THE DWARFS.— rA STRANGE 

AND INTERESTING SPECTACLE. AN ABANDONED TOWN. 

A REVERIE BESIDE A STREAM. THE LEAF, THE BUTTER- 
FLY, AND THE BIRD. THE BLESSING OF WATER. 

Early the next morning we started again on our jour- 
ney through the great forest, passing many hills and sev- 
eral rivulets with queer names. Suddenly we came upon 
twelve strange little houses scattered at random, and I 
stopped and asked Kombila for what use those shelters 
were built. He answered, " Spirit, those are the houses 
of a small people called Obongos." 

" What !" said I, thinking that I had not understood 
him. 

'^ Yes," repeated Kombila, "the people who live in such 
a shelter can talk, and they build fires." 

" Kombila," I replied, " why do you tell me a story ? 
How can people live in such little places ? These little 
houses have been built for idols. Look," said I, "at 
those little doors. Even a child must crawl on the 
ground to get into them." 

" No," said Kombila, " the Dwarfs have built them." 

"How can that be?" I asked; "for where are the 
Dwarfs now? There are. no plantain - trees around; 
there are no fires, no cooking-pots, no water-jugs." 

" Oh/' said Kombila, " those Obongos are strange peo- 




I 



HOMES OF THE DWARFS. 2 1 7 

pie. They never stay long inthe sanie place. They cook 
on charcoal. They drink with their hands, or with large 
leaves." 

" Then," I answered, " do you mean to say that we are 
in the country of -the Dwarfs?" 

"- Yes," said Kombila, " we are in the country of the 
Dwarfs. They are scattered in the forest. Their little 
villages, like the one you see before you, are far apart. 
They are as wild as the antelope, and roam in the forest 
from place to place. They are like the beasts of the 
fields. They feed on the serpents, rats and mice, and 
on the berries and nuts of the forest." 

" That can not be," I said. 

" Yes, Oguizi, this is so," replied the porters. " Look 
for yourself ;" and they pointed to the huts. 

" Is it possible," I asked myself, " that there are people 
so small that they can live in such small buildings as 
those befoi^e me ?" 

How strange the houses of the Dwarfs seemed ! The 
length of each house w^as about that of a man, and the 
height was just enough to keep the head of a man from 
touching the roof when he was seated. The materials 
used in building were the branches of trees bent in the 
form of a bow, the ends put into the ground, and the 
middle branches being the highest. The shape of each 
house w^as very much like that of an orange cut in two. 
The frame-work was covered with large leaves, and there 
were little doors which did not seem to be more than 
eighteen inches high, and about twelve or fifteen inches 
broad. Even the Dwarfs must have lain almost flat on the 
ground in order to pass thi'ougli. - When I say door I mean 
simply an opening, a hole to go through. It was only a 



218 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS, 

tiny doorway. But I managed to get inside one of these 
strange little houses, and I found there two beds, w^hich 
were as curious as every thing else about the premises. 
Three or four sticks on each side of the hut were the 
beds. Each bed was about eight inches, or, at tlie most, 
ten inches in width. One was for the wife and the oth 
er for the husband. A little piece of wood on each bed 
made the pillows. It was almost pitch dark inside, the 
only light coming from the opening or door. Between 
the two beds were the remains of a fire, judging by the 
ashes and the pieces of burnt wood. 

These huts did really look like the habitations of men 
— the homes of a race of Dwarfs. But had Kombila told 
me a falsehood ? Were not these huts built for the fe- 
tichs and idols ? It was true the great historian Herod- 
otus had described a nation of Dwarfs as living on the 
head waters of the Nile ; Homer had spoken of the cranes 
and of the land of the Pigmies ; and Strabo thought that 
certain little men of Ethiopia were the original Dwarfs, 
while Pomponius Mela placed them far south, and, like 
Homer, spoke of their fighting with cranes ; but then 
nobody had believed these stories. Could it be possible 
that I had discovered these people, spoken of thousands of 
years before, just as I had come face to face with the go- 
rilla, which Hanno had described many centuries before ? 

How excited I became as I thought this strange mat- 
ter over and over ! Finally, however, my mind became 
settled, and I said to myself, " No, these mean shelters 
could never have been built by man, for the nshiego- 
mbouve builds' as good a house. Kombila tells me a 
story. These houses are built for a certain purpose, and 
he does not want to tell me the reason." 



ME-NAMINO A RIVER, 219 

So we left the so-called abandoned village of the 
Dwarfs, and onward we traveled toward the east, and 
soon came to a river called Ogoulou, on the bank of 
which was situated an Ishogo village of the name of 
Yengue. 

We entered, but the villagers received us in profound 
silence. Kombila all the time said to them, " Do not be 
afraid. We have come here as friends." At last we 
reached the ouandja, and there I seated myself. I could 
not find out who the chief was, but the people evidently 
knew the Mokaba tribe. The old men, after a while, 
gave me a house for myself and my Commi, while my 
Aponos went to lodge with their friends. I heard that 
the chief had fled. 

Nothing important took place that day. In the even- 
ing, while in my hu^t, in the midst of a profound silence, 
I heard a voice exclaiming " Beware ! We have an ogui- 
zi amonguis ! Beware ! There is no monda (fetich) to 
prevent us from seeing him during the day, but let no 
one try to see him in his house at night, for whoever does 
so is sure to die." So no one dared to come. After 
hearing this speech, in order to give the savages an idea 
of my great power, I fired a gun. Its report filled the 
people with awe. 

After resting in Yengue we made preparations to cross 
the beautiful Ogoulou River, and when I stood upon its 
bank I said, " Ogoulou — such is thy Ishogo name ; but, 
as I am the first white man who sees thy waters, I call 
thee Eckmiihl, in remembrance of a dear friend !" 

We crossed the river in canoes, and then continued our 
way, and after about six miles' journeying came to an 
Ishogo village called Mokenga. It was the last Ishogo 



220 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

village to which the Apono were to take me. They had 
fulfilled their mission^ and had led me toward the east 
as far as they could go. 

Mokenga was a beautiful village, with a wide and 
clean street; but as we walked through it we saw that 
the doors of the houses were all shut, and there was not 
one Ishogo to be seen. Nevertheless, we marched through 
the village until we came to the ouandja. A few men 
were then seen peeping at us from afar with frightened 
looks. Kombila called to them, saying, " How is it that 
when strangers come to your village you do not hasten 
to salute them ?" Then they recognized some of my 
porters, and shouted back, " You are right ! you are 
right!" Some of the elders came to us, and saluted us 
in the Ishogo fashion — that is, by clapping the hailds to- 
gether, and then stretching them out again, showing the 
palms. 

Kombila made a speech, and other Aponos also spoke. 
Kombila cried out, in his stentorian voice, " If you are 
not pleased, tell us, and we will take the Spirit to anoth- 
er village where the people will be glad to welcome us." 
Then the elders of the village withdrew together, and 
presently came back, saying, '' We are pleased, and glad- 
ly welcome the Oguizi ;" and then huts were given to us. 

The Ishogos have really good large huts, many of 
which were adorned with roomy piazzas. The forest 
round the village of Mokenga was filled with leopards, 
so that the people could not sleep outside their huts in 
very warm weather, and every goat was carefully guard- 
ed in order not to become the prey of those beasts. In 
the centre of the village were two goat-houses, built so 
strongly that the leopards could not get in, and every 



A BIRD COLONY. 221 

evening the goats were shut np. Tlie Ishogos not only 
have goats, but also a small species of poultry, and almost 
every house has a parrot of the gray variety with red tail. 
Bee-hives were also plentiful. 

Not far from the goat-house were found two large 
trees that were planted when the village was built^ and 
upon them were thousands of birds' nests, with myriads 
of birds, which made a fearful noise. These birds lived 
all the year round in Mokenga. I have given you a de- 
scription of their colony in " Wild Life under the Equa- 
tor." 

One morning, before the people were up, I took the 
road leading to the spring from which the villagers got 
their water, for I wanted to see it. The path led down 
the hill, and soon a charming sight met my eye. The 
landscape was lovely. A rill of water, clear, cold, and 
pure, leaped from the lower part of a precipitous hill, 
and, wiili^pi fall of about nine feet, fell into a crystal ba- 
sin filled with beautiful pebbles. From the basin a riv- 
ulet crawled along a bed of small pebbles down to the 
lower level, winding through a most beautiful forest. 
The scene was very beautiful. 

One day, when I had seated myself below the fall, the 
rays of the sun, peeping through an opening, happened 
to shine upon the water, and made it look like running 
crystal. Below the cascade, the bed of the little stream, 
filled with pebbles of quartz, sparkled as if the pebbles 
had been diamonds; they might have been taken for 
gems while the sun was shining upon them. Water-lil- 
ies, white as snow, grew here and there, and moved to and 
fro, tossed by the water fiowing toward the great river 
Rembo. The water looked like the water of life, and so 



222 THE CO TJNTR Y OF THE D WARES. 

it was. I said to myself, '' When God is good to man, he 
is good to all; for all kinds of living creatures come to 
this stream, and drink of the water which is life to them." 

The gentle ripple of the stream, as it glided down, 
sounded like music, and made me think. I could not 
help it. My thoughts wandered far over the mountains, 
and the lands I had crossed and discovered, and far be- 
yond the sea, to the land where the great Mississippi 
flows. I looked intently at the water. Now and then 
I could see a little pebble rolHng along ; then it would 
stand still for a while, and again roll on, and every roll 
wore it away and rounded it. As it kept rolling down 
the stream day after day, year after year, it w^ould 
become daily less and less in size. I said to myself, 
"What does keep still? Since the beginning of the 
world, nothing has stood still ; every thing goes on and 
on, and will continue to do so till the end." 

Just as I was beginning to think deeply on the sub- 
ject, a leaf fell from a tree into the water, and was car- 
ried away down tlie stream. Now it would strand on 
the shore, or on some little island which seemed to have 
been made for a resting-place, and then it would be car- 
ried away again by the swift current. I wondered what 
would be the journey of that little leaf. Would it be 
carried all the way to the sea? Surely it could not tell, 
neither could I tell how long a time it w^ould take to get 
to the sea, nor what would happen to it during the pas- 
sage. Our life, I thought, is very much like the journey 
of that little leaf : it knew not what was before it, nor 
do we know what will happen to us. 

Such is life. From the day we are born we know not 
how we shall be carried on by the stream of life. We 



RIVER-SIDE REVERIES. 



223 



may strand on the shore, or we may glide gently down 
the current; but, like this little leaf , on our journey we 
must meet with whirlpools and rocky shores, rapids and 
precipices, and many obstacles. Storms may overtake 
us and strand us, but the end of the journey is sure to 
come, and then the great and the learned, the rich and 
the poor, the Christian and the heathen, the Moslem and 
the Jew, are sure to meet. 

I followed the little leaf till it disappeared from my 
sight forever. Another came and followed it, and an- 
other, and another, and they all vanished after a while, 
never to come back to the same spot. So it is with man, 
I thought. One disappears from sight — Death has taken 
him. Another comes and takes his place ; another and 
another follow each other, as these leaves did, and all go 
to the same goal — Death. 

■ I said to myself, " I have drifted away like one of 
these lea^y^s ; sometimes tossed by the sea, sometimes by 
the wind, going to and fro, carried down the journey of 
life, meeting storms and breakers. I can not tell where 
I shall drift, for no man can tell what the future has in 
store for him. God alone knows whither the little leaf 
and I are drifting." 

As I continued my reverie, thinking of life and its 
mysteries, and of the future, a beautiful butterfly made 
its appearance. Its colors were brilliant — red and white, 
blue and gold. It went from lily to lily, caring appar- 
ently for nothing but the sweets of life. I could not help 
saying to myself, " How many are like this little butterfly ! 
but how little we know, for I am sure this butterfly has 
its troubles, and so have those who have made the world 
and its pleasures the flowers upon which they live." 

K 2 



224 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

The butterfly had hardly disappeared from sight when 
a bird came — what a sweet little bird ! I see it still by 
that little stream of Mokenga, though years have passed 
away. Down the tree he came fluttering from branch to 
branch, looking at the water, calling for his mate, as if to 
say, '' I have found water ; come and let us drink togeth- 
er ;" but the absent one did not come. Soon afterward 
the bird was on the shore, its little feet leaving prints 
upon the sand. It came to one spot and stopped, gave a 
warble of joy, then drank, and between each sip sang, as 
if to tell how happy he was, and to thank God for that 
beautiful water. After drinking, it spread its wings and 
bathed its little body in the spring of Mokenga, then 
flew away, hid in the thick leaves out of my sight, and 
for a while I heard it singing. 

" How grateful you seemed to be, little birdie, to that 
God who gave you this nice water to drink!" I said; 
"but, though you are happy just now, I know that you 
have your sorrows and troubles,*^ like every creature 
which God has made, from man down to the smallest in- 
sect." 

After the little bird had gone I went to the spot where 
it had drank. Nothing could be seen but its footprints, 
and even these would remain but a short time, and after 
a while no one would ever know where its feet had been. 
So it is with the footprints of man — who can tell where 
they come upon the highways ? 

Not far from where I stood the stream was deeper. 
The little pebbles looked so pretty, the water so clear, so 
pure, and so cool, that I could not withstand the tempta- 

* See chapter on "The Sorrows of Birds, "in "Wild Life under the 
Equator. " 



THANK GOD FOR WATEH. 



225 



tion, aiid^ like the little bird, I drank, and thought there 
was not a beverage that ever v^as so good, for God had 
made it for man and for his creatures. Many times, in 
these grand and beautiful regions of Equatorial Africa, 
I have exclaimed, on beholding the beautiful v^ater which 
abounds every where, and after I had quenched my thirst, 
" There is nothing so good and so harmless as the water 
that God created T' 




CHAPTEE XXIII. 

GKOTESQUE HEAD-DRESSES. CURIOUS FASHIONS IN TEETH. 

A VENERABLE GRANITE BOULDER. — INTERIOR OF A 

HUT. A WARLIKE RACE OF SAVAGES. GIVING THEM 

AN ELECTRIC SHOCK. 

How strange were those Ishogos ! They were unlike 
all the other savages I met. What a queer way to ar- 
range their hair ! It requires from twenty-five to thirty 
years for an Ishogo woman to be able to build upon her 
head one of their grotesjque head-dresses. The accompa- 
nying pictures will show you how they look. But you 
will ask how they can arrange hair in such a manner. I 
will tell you : A frame is made, and the hair is worked 
upon it ; but if there is no frame, then they use grass- 
cloth, or any other stufiing, and give the shape they wish 
to the head-dress. A well-known hair-dresser, who, by 
the way, is always a female, is a great person in an Ishogo 
village, and is kept pretty busy from morning till after- 
noon. , It takes much time to work up. the long wool on 
these negroes' heads, but, when one of these heads of hair, 
or chignons^ is made, it lasts for a long time — sometimes 
for two or three months — without requiring repair. I 
need not tell you that after a few weeks the head gets 
filled with specimens of natural history. The Ishogo 
women use a queer comb : it is like a sharp-pointed nee- 
dle from one to eighteen inches in length, and, when the 
insects bite, the point is applied with vigor. 





''/i/lfy:'[ih 



PECULIARITIES OF DRESS. 229 

A great quantity of palm oil is used in dressing the 
hair, and, as the natives never wash their heads, the odor 
is not pleasant. When a woman comes out with a newly- 
made chignon^ the little Ishogo girls exclaim, "When 
shall I be old enough to wear one of these ? How beau- 
tiful they are P 

Every morning, instead of taking a bath, the Ishogos 
rub themselves with oil, mixed with a red dye made from 
the wood of a forest tree. 

All the people have their two upper middle incisor 
teeth taken out, with the two middle lower ones, and 
often the four upper incisors are all extracted. They 
think they look handsome without front teeth. Their 
bodies are all tattooed. Their eyebrows are shaved at 
intervals of a few days, and their eyelashes are also 
pulled oat from time to time. 

Many who can afford it wear round the neck a loose 
ring of ii:Dn of the size of a finger, and if they are rich 
they wear on their ankles and wrists three or four loose 
iron or copper rings, with w^hich they make music when 
they dance. Xot an Ishogo woman has her ears pierced 
for ear-rings. This is extraordinary, for all savages seem 
fond of ear-rings. 

The days passed pleasantly while I was in the village 
of Mokenga. I loved the villagers, and, besides, the 
country was beautiful. The mountains were lovely ; -the 
streams of clear water were abundant ; around the vil- 
lage were immense groves of plantain-trees, in the midst 
of which, giant-like, rose gracefully a great number of 
palm-trees ; the lime-trees were covered with ripe yellow 
limes ; wild Cayenne pepper grew every where ; and back 
of all stood the great tall trees of the forest, T\dth their 



230 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

dark foliage, and with creepers hanging down from their 
branches, while underneath the trees was the thick jun- 
gle, into which man could hardly penetrate. All was ro- 
mantic and wonderful. 

Not far from the village stood a very large solitary 
boulder of granite. How did it come there ? The peo- 
ple looked at the huge stone with veneration. They said 
a spirit brought it there long, long ago. This boulder 
stood by the path leading to the spring which supplied 
the villagers with drinking water, and the women of the 
village were constantly going with their calabashes to get 
the cool water. When I ascended the hill in returning 
from my walks, I was fond of stopping to rest upon this 
boulder, and it was a perpetual wonder to me. 

But one day there was a great excitement in Moken- 
ga. The people would go toward the boulder, and then 
come back with a frightened aspect, and look toward 
my hut apparently in great fear. Indeed, they were so 
alarmed that they fled from me when Hooked at them. 
The Oguizi, they said, had got up from his slumber dur- 
ing the night, and had gone to the boulder, and taken it 
upon his shoulders and moved it away ; for all said it 
was not in the same place that it had formerly occupied. 
" How strong is the Oguizi !" they said ; " he can move 
mountains !" During the day they came, covered with 
the chalk of the alumbi, and danced around my hut 
while I was in the forest, shouting, " Great Oguizi, do 
not be angry with us !" 

The hut which the Mokenga people gave me was quite 
a sight. The furniture of an Ishogo house is unique, and 
I am going to give you an inside view of it. 

My own house was twenty-one feet long and eight 



INSIDE OF A HUT. 



231 



feet wide. In the middle there was a door, with twelve 
carved round spots, painted black ; the outside ring was 
painted white, and the background w^as red. The door 
was twenty-seven inches in height. The house had three 
rooms, and from the roof were suspended great numbers 
of baskets and dishes of wicker-work, made from a kind 
of wild Totang, Baskets and dishes constitute a part of 
the wealth of an Ishogo household, and great numbers 
of them are given to the girls when they marry. Hung 
to the roof w^ere also large quantities of calabashes which 
had been hardened by the smoke. A large cake of to- 
bacco had also been hung up, and all around w^ere earth- 
en-ware pots and jars, used for cooking purposes, with 




Ai'KiCAiS GOAT, CilIOKEN, I'ARUOT, AiM) IDOL« 



232 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

cotton bags, several looms, spears, bows, arrows, battle- 
axes, and mats. 

The Ishogos and I gradually became very friendly. 
We had many nice talks together, and I heard strange 
tales, and more stories about the Dwarfs. 

" Yes," said the Ishogos, " but a little while ago there 
was a settlement of the Dwarfs not far from Mokenga, 
but they have moved, for they are like the antelope ; they 
never stay long at the same place." 

" You are in the country of the Dwarfs, Oguizi," they 
continued ; " their villages are scattered in our great for- 
est, where they move from place to place, and none of us 
know where they go after they leave." 

An Ashango man was in Mokenga on a visit while I 
staid there. An Ishogo had married his daughter. Pie, 
too, said that there were many settlements of Dwarfs in 
liis country, and he promised that I should see them when 
I went there. The name of his village is Niembouai, 
and he said he should tell his people that we were com- 
ing ; for the Ishogos were to take me there, and leave 
me in the hands of the Ashangos, who, in their turn, 
were to take me, as the Ishogos often say, where my 
heart led me. 

After a very pl-easant time in Mokenga, we left that 
place for the Ashango country, inhabited by the new 
people who were said by the Ishogos to speak the same 
language as the Aponos. The villagers had begun to 
love me, for I had given them many things ; having too 
much luggage, I was rather generous with them, and had 
given the women great quantities of beads. There was 
great excitement in Mokenga before we left, and, as my 
Ishogo porters, headed by Mokounga, took up their loads, 
the people were wild with agitation. 



A WARLIKE RACE. 233 

During the day we crossed a mouniain called Migoma, 
and saw Mount Njiangala. From Migoma I could see 
the country all around. As far as my eye could reach I 
saw nothing but mountains covered with trees. " There," 
said the Ishogos to me, "live gorillas, chimpanzees. 
Dwarfs, elephants, and all kinds of wild beasts." 

The trayeling was hard, but on we went, still toward 
the east, and before dark of the first day we came to a 
mountain called Mouida. At its base was a beautiful 
stream called Mabomina. We encamped for the night, 
all feeling very tired. We had to keep watch carefully 
over our fires, for leopards were plentiful. The next 
morning we started ^ glad to get out of the haunts of these 
animals, which had been prowling around our camp all 
night. 

After some severe traveling we arrived at the bank of 
a river called Odiganga. After crossing the stream we 
came upon^a new tribe of wild Africans called the Ashan- 
gos. There was a scream of fear among them when I 
made my appearance ; but the Ishogos cried out, " Aslian- 
go, do not be afraid ; we are with the Oguizi." I could 
see at a glance that the Ashangos were a warlike race. 
The village was called Magonga, meaning "spear." 
Back of it was a mountain, towering high in the air, 
called Madombo. We spent the night in the village, 
and after leaving it we had an awful task in ascending 
Mount Madombo. The path was so steep that we had 
to aid ourselves by using the bushes and creepers hang- 
ing from the trees. It was all we could do to succeed. 
I would not have liked any fighting at that spot. 

On our journey we found that these wild Ashangos 
were very numerous in these mountains. Village after 



234 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWAMFS, 

village was passed by us in the midst of a profound si- 
lence, sometimes broken by the people who had heard of 
our approach, and were hiding themselves in their huts. 
At other times, after we had passed, they would shout, 
" The Oguizi has black feet and a white face !" (They 
thought my boots were my ovm skin.) " He has no toes ! 
What queer feet the Oguizi has !" 

My seven Commi were perfectly delighted with their 
journey; our misfortunes were forgotten. 

After a long journey over the mountains and through 
a wild region, we came at last to the village of Niem- 
bouai. I was glad to reach it, for there seemed to be no 
dry season in that part of the world. It rains all the 
year round. The people, though shy, did not run away, 
but were very difHcult of approach. Our Ashango friend, 
whom we had met at Mokenga, had done his best to allay 
their fears, and he and a deputation of the Niembouai 
had come to Magonga to meet us, and to take us to their 
own country. So every thing was ready for my recep- 
tion. When I reached Niembouai the best house of the 
village was given to me. It belonged to the elder who 
had seen me at Mokenga, and who claimed the right to 
have me as his guest. 

The next day after my arrival the supposed chief came. 
I had no w^ay of knowing if he was the true chief. A 
grand palaver was held, and I gave presents of beads, 
trinkets, etc., to him and to forty-three elders, and to the 
queen and other women. After the presents had been 
given I thought I would show them my power, and or- 
dered guns to be fired. This filled them with fear. " He 
holds the thunder in his hand !" they said. " Oh, look at 
the great Oguizi ! look at his feet ! look at his hair ! look 



ELECTRIFYING THE NATIVES. 237 

at his nose ! Look at him ! Who would ever have 
thought of such a kind of oguizi, for he is so unlike oth- 
er oguizis ?" 

After the excitement w^as over I told the Ashangos to 
keep still. ! then went into my hut and brought out a 
Geneva musical box of large size, and when I touched 
the spring it began to play. I moved off. A dead si- 
lence prevailed. By instinct the Ashangos moved off 
too, and a circle was formed by them around the box. 
They all listened to "the spirit,'' to "the devil that was 
inside of that box" talking to me. Fear had seized upon 
them. I walked away. They stood like statues, not dar- 
ing to move a step. They were spell-bound. 

After a few moments I took the box back into my hut^ 
and brought out a powerful electric battery. Then I or- 
dered the forty-three elders and the king to come and 
stand in, a line. They came, but were evidently awed. 
The peoplay'dared not say a word. Every thing being 
ready, I told them to hold the ninety feet of conducting 
wire. " Hold hard !" I cried. 

The people looked at the old men with wonder, and 
could not understand how they dared to hold that cliarmed 
string of the Oguizi. The Ishogos, my guides, were them- 
selves bewildered, for they had not seen this thing in their 
village. My Commi men did not utter a word, but their 
faces were as long as if they never had seen any thing. 

" Hold on !" I repeated ; " do not let the string go out 
of your hands." I then gave a powerful continuous 
shock. The arms of the elders twisted backward against 
their will, and their bodies bent over ; but they still held 
the wire, which, indeed, now they had not the power to 
drop. Their mouths were wide open ; their bodies trem- 



238 THE COUNTRY OB' THE DWARFS, 

bled from the continuous electric shock; they looked at 
me and cried " Oh ! oh ! oh ! Yo ! yo ! yo !" 1 had re- 
ally given a too powerful shock. The people fled. 

In an instant all was over. I stopped the current of 
electricity. The wire fell from tlie elders' hands^ and 
they looked at me in perfect bewilderment. The people 
came back. The elders explained their electric sensa- 
tion, and then a wild hurra and a shout went up. " There 
is not another great oguizi like the one in our village," 
was the general exclamation ; and they came and danced 
around me, and sang mbuiti songs, bending their bodies 
low, and looking at me in the face as if I had been one 
of their idols. " Great Oguizi, do not be angry with us,'^ 
they cried repeatedly. 

" Don't be afraid, Ashangos," I said. I then ordered 
my men to fire their guns again, and, to add to the noise, 
our dogs began to bark ; so that, with the barking, the 
shouting, the firing, and the beating of drums by the na- 
tives, Niembouai was very lively for a few minutes. 

" Come again !" shouted the Ishogos. " The Oguizi we 
brought to you has more things to show you." Then I 
came out with a powerful magnet, which held many of 
the implements of iron used by the Ashangos. Up and 
down went the knives ; the magnet sometimes held them 
by the end, sometimes by the blade. The people were 
so afraid of the magnet that not one of them dared to 
touch it when I asked them to do so. 

That night I hung a large clock under the piazza, and 
the noise it made frightened the Ashangos very much. 

My power was established. The elegtric battery had 
been effective. How droll the sight was when they re- 
ceived the shock ! You w^ould have laughed heartily if 
you could have seen them. 




CHAPTER XXiy. 

VISIT TO A VILLAGE OF THE DWAEFS. — WALK THEOUGH 

THE PRIMEVAL FOREST. AN ANCIENT ACCOUNT OF THIS 

STEANGE EACE. — A GEEAT ASHANGO DANCE. A WATCH 

AND A TEEMENDOTJS SNEEZE. FIEST VIEW OF THE 

DWAEF8. QTJEEE SPECIMENS OF HUMANITY. 

The day after I had done before the Ashangos the 
wonderful things I have described to you, as I was seat- 
ed under the veranda of the king with Mokounga and a 
few Ashango elders, I began to talk of the country, and 
I said to them, "People say that there are Dwarfs living 
in the forest. Is it so, Ashangos ? How far are they 
from Niembouai?" "At no great distance from this 
spot," said the chief, "there is a village of them; but, 
Oguizi, if you want to see them you must not go to them 
with a large number of attendants. You must go in a 
small party. Take one of your Commi men, and I will 
give you my nephew, who knows the Dwarfs, to go with 
you. You must walk as cautiously as possible in the for- 
est, for those Dwarfs are like antelopes and gazelles ; 
they are shy and easily frightened. To see them you 
must take them by surprise. No entreaty of ours could 
induce them to stay in their settlements if they knew you 
were coming. If you are careful, to-morrow we shall 
see them, for as sure as I live there are Dwarfs in the 
forest, and they are called Obongos." 

L 



240 THE COUNTHY OF THE DWARFS. 

Early the next morning the Ashango chief called one 
of his nephews and another Ashango, and ordered them 
to show me the way to the country of the Dwarfs. So 
we got ready to start, I taking three of my Commi men 
with me — Eebouka, Igalo, and Macondai. I had put on 
a pair of light India-rubber boots in order not to make 
any noise in the forest. Before leaving I gave a large 
bunch of beads to one of the Ashango men, and told him 
as soon as we made our appearance in the village. to 
shout, " Oboiigos, do not run away. Look here at the 
beads which the Spirit brings to you. The Spirit is 
your friend ; do not be afraid ; he comes only to see 
you." 

After leaving Niembouai w^e walked through the forest 
in the most cautious manner, and as we approached the 
settlement the Ashango man who was in the lead turned 
his head toward us, put a finger on his lips for us to be 
silent, and made a sign for us to walk very carefully, and 
we advanced with more circumspection than ever. Aft- 
er a while we came to the settlement of the Dwarfs. 
Over a small area the undergrowth had been partially 
cut away, and there stood twelve queer little houses, 
which were the habitations of these strange people, but 
not a Dwarf was to be seen. They had all gone. " No- 
body here," shouted the Ashangos, and the echo of their 
voices alone disturbed the stillness of the forest. I looked 
around at this strange little settlement of living Dwarfs. 
There was no mistake about it. The fires were lighted, 
the smoke ascended from the interior of their little shel- 
ters ; on a bed of charcoal embers there w^as a piece of 
snake roasting; before another were two rats cooking; 
on the ground there -were several baskets of nuts, and 



THE HOMES OF THE DWABFS. 241 

one of berries, with some large wild fruits that had been 
gathered by the Dwarfs in the woods ; while near by ' 
stood several calabashes filled with water, and some bun- 
dles of dried fish. 

There was, indeed, no mistake : the huts I had seen on 
my way to Niembouai were the same as these, and had 
been made surely by the same race of Dwarfs. The 
Ishogos had told me no idle stories. I wish you could 
have seen the faces of Eebouka, Igalo, and Macondai. 
" Oh ! oh ! oh !" they exclaimed. " Chally, what are we 
not going to see in the wild countries you bring us to ? 
These people must be niamas (beasts) ; for, look," said 
they, pointing to their huts, " the shelters of the nshiego- 
mbouve are quite as good." 

I lingered a long while in the hope that the Dwarfs 
would return), but they did not. We called for them, 
but our voices were lost; we followed some of their 
tracks, but it was of no use. " You can not overtake 
them," said the Ashangos, " for they can run through the 
jungle as fast as the gazelle and as silently as a snake, 
and they are far off now. They are afraid of you." Be- 
fore leaving their settlement I hung on the lower branch- 
es of trees surrounding their village strings of beads of 
bright colors which I carried with me in my hunting-bag, 
for I always had some ready to give away whenever I 
wanted to do so. I had red, white, and yellow beads with 
me that day, and the trees looked gay with these strings 
hanging from them. We had taken goat-meat for the 
Dwarfs, and I hung up three legs of goats also, and sev- 
eral plantains, and I put a little salt on a leaf near a hut, 
and we departed. So I hoped that the dwarfs, seeing 
what we had left behind us, would become emboldened^ 



242 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

and see that we did not desire to do them harm, and that 
the next time they wonld not be afraid of us. 

I was pleased to perceive on our arrival in the evening 
at Niembouai that the Ashangos seemed glad to see ns 
again, though the chief was quite disappointed that we 
had not seen the little Obongos. 

That evening the Ashangos clustered around me, and 
wanted me to talk to them, not in their own language, 
but in the language of the oguizis (spirits). So I talked 
to them, and their wonder was great, and I read to them 
from a book, all of them listening the while with their 
mouths wide open. Then I took my journal, and read 
to them aloud in English, and after reading the part 
which related to what I had done in the Ishogo village 
of Mokenga, I translated it to them, to the great delight 
of the Ishogos. The part I read related to my arrival in 
Mokenga ; how the people were afraid of me, and what 
warm friends we became, and how the villagers said I 
had moved the big boulder of granite. At this there 
was a tremendous shout. Then I said, " Ashangos, the 
oguizis do not forget any thing. What I write will al- 
ways be remembered. Now I will read you something 
we have from an oguizi who wrote about Dwarfs. The 
name of that oguizi was Herodotus." "And yours," 
shouted the Ishogos, " is Chally !" 

" That oguizi, Herodotus," I continued, " wrote about 
what he heard and what he saw, just as I do. Long, long 
ago, before any tree of the forest round you had come out 
of the ground" (I could not count in their language, and 
say about 2300 years ago), " that oguizi, Herodotus, trav- 
eled just as I am traveling to-day" — "Oh ! oh .^" shouted 
the Ashangos. " Mamo ! mamo !" shouted the Ishogos. 



THE DWAEFS OF OLDEN TIME. 243 

" Listen ! listen !" said my Commi men in English, for 
they all now could talk a little English — " and he writes : 
" ' I did hear, indeed, what I will now relate, from cer- 
tain natives of Cyrene. Once upon a time, when they 
were on a visit to the oracular shrine of Ammon, when 
it chanced in the course of conversation with Etearchus, 
the Ammonian king, the talk fell upon the Nile — how 
that its source was unknown to all men. Etearchus, 
upon this, mentioned that some Nasamonians had come 
to his court, and, when asked if they could give any in- 
formation concerning the uninhabited parts of Libya, had 
told the following tale (the Nasamonians are a Libyan 
race who occupy the Syrtes and a tract of no great size 
toward the east). They said there had grown up among 
them some wild young men, the sons of certain chiefs, 
who, whett-ihey came to man's estate, indulged in all 
manners of extravagances, and, among other things, 
drew lots for five of their number to go and explore the 
desert parts of Libya, and try if they could not penetrate 
farther than any had done previously. (The coast of Lib- 
ya, along the sea, which washes it to the north through- 
out its entire length from Egypt to Cape Soloeis, which 
is its farthest point, is inhabited by Libyans of many dis- 
tinct tribes, who possess the whole tract except certain por- 
tions which belong to the Phoenicians and the G-reeks.) 
Above the coast-line and the country inhabited b3^the 
maritime tribes, Libya is full of wild beasts, while beyond 
the wild-beast region there is a tract which is wholly sand 
and very scant of water, and utterly and entirely a desert. 
The young men, therefore, dispatched on this errand by 
their comrades, with a plentiful supply of water and pro- 
visions, traveled at first through the inhabited region, pass- 



244 • THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

ing which they came to the wild-beast tract, whence they 
finally entered upon the desert, which they proceeded to 
cross in a direction from east to west. After jom^n eying 
for many days over a wide extent of land, they came at 
last to a plain where they observed trees growing : ap- 
proaching them and seeing fruit on them, they proceeded 
to gather it ; while they were thus engaged there came 
upon them some dwarfish men under the middle height^ 
who seized them and carried them oif . The Nasamoni- 
ans did not understand a word of their language, nor had 
they any acquaintance with the language of the Nasamo- 
nians. They were carried across extensive marshes, and 
finally came to a city in which all the men were of the 
height of their conductors, and dark complexioned. A 
great river flowed by the city, running from west to east, 
and containing crocodiles. Etearchus conjectured this 
river to be the Nile, and reason favors this idea.' " 

" Oh ! oh !" shouted my Commi men. " It is no won- 
der that the white man forgets nothing. Chally, wdll 
what you wTite about the strange things we see be re- 
membered in the same manner with what that man He- 
rodotus wrote ?" 

" I do not know," said I. " If the white people think 
that what we saw is worthy of preservation, it will be re- 
membered ; if not, it will be forgotten. But never mind," 
I said ; " let us see for ourselves, and what a tale we shall 
have to tell to our people on our return ; for what we see 
no other men have ever seen before us." 

After my story of Herodotus the shades of evening 
had come, and a great Ashango dance took place. How 
wild, how strange the dancing was in the temple or house 
of the mbuiti (idol) ! The idol was a huge representa- 



DANCING ROUND AN IDOL, 245 

tion of a woman, and it stood at the end of the temple, 
which was about fifty feet in length, and only ten feet 
broad. The extremity of the building, where the mbuiti 
was kept, was also dark, and looked weird by the light of 
the torches as I entered. It was painted in red, white, 
and black. 

Along the walls on each side were Ashango men seat- 
ed on the ground, each having a lighted torch before him. 
In the centre were two mbuiti-men (doctor, priest) dressed 
with fibres of trees round their waist ; each had one side 
of his face painted white and the other side red. Down 
the middle of the breast they had a broad yellow stripe, 
and the hollow of the eye was painted yellow. They 
make these different colors from different woods, the 
coloring matter of which they mix with clay. All the 
Ashangos were also streaked and daubed with various 
colors, and by the light of their torches they looked like 
a troop of devils assembled on the earth to celebrate 
some diabolical rite. Round their legs were bound 
sharp-pointed whitQ leaves from the heart of the palm- 
tree ; some wore feathers, others had leaves behind their 
ears, and all had a bundle of palm-leaves in their hands. 
They did not stir w^hen I came in. I told them not to 
stop ; that I came only to look at them. 

They began by making all kinds of contortions, and 
set up a deafening howl of wild songs. There was an 
orchestra of instrumental performers near the idol, con- 
Bisting of three drummers beating as hard as they could 
with their sticks on two ngonnas (tam-tams), one harper, 
and another man strumming with all his might on a 
sounding-board. The two mbuiti-men danced in a most 
fantastic manner, jumping and twisting their bodies into 



246 THE CO JJNTR Y OF TEE B WARES. 

all sorts of shapes and contortions. Every time the 
mbuiti-men opened their months to speak a dead silence 
ensued. Now and then the men would all come and 
danee round the mbuiti-men, and then they would all 
face the idol, dance before it, and sing songs of praise 
to it. 

I could not stand this noise long, so I left my Ashan- 
gos to enjoy themselves, and, as usual before retiring, or- 
dered my men to keep their watch in a proper manner. 

" Don't be disheartened," said the chief of Niembouai 
to me after my unsuccessful attempt to see the Dwarfs. 
" I told you before that the little Obongos were as shy 
as the antelopes and gazelles of the woods. You have 
seen for yourself now that what I said was true. If you 
are careful when you go again to their settlement, you 
will probably surprise them, only don't wait long before 
going again, for they may move away." 

Before sunrise the next morning we started again for 
the settlement of the little Dwarfs. We were still more 
cautious than before in going through the jungle. This 
time we took another direction to reach them, lest per- 
haps they might be watching the path by which we had 
come before. 

After a while I thought I saw through the trunks of 
the trees ahead of us several little houses of the Dwarfs. 
I kept still, and immediately gave a sign to make my 
guides maintain silence. They obeyed me on the instant, 
and we lay motionless on the ground, hardly daring to 
breathe. There was no mistake about it ; we could see, 
as we peeped through the trees, the houses of the Dwarfs, 
but there seemed to be no life there, no Obongos. We 
kept watching for more than half an hour in breathless 



FFJGRT OF THE D WAFFS. 247 

silence, when lo ! Eebouka gave a tremendous sneeze. I 
looked at him. I wish you had seen his face'. Another 
sneeze was comingj and he was trying hard to prevent it 
and made all sorts of faces, but the look I gave him was 
enough, I suppose, and the second sneeze was suppressed. 
Then we got up and entered the little settlement of the 
Dwarfs, There v\'as not one of them there. The village 
had been abandoned. The leaves over the httle houses 
were diy, and, while we wei-e looking all round, sudden- 
ly our bodies were covered with swarms of fleas, which 
di'ove us out faster than we came. It was awful, for 
they did bite savagely, as if they had not had any thing 
to feed upon for a whole month. 

We continued to walk very carefully, and after a while 
we came near another settlement of the Dwarfs, which 
was situated in the densest part of the forest. I see the 
huts ; we cross the little stream from which the Dwarfs 
drew thdir water to drink. How careful we are as we 
walk toward their habitations, our bodies bent almost 
double, in order not to be easily discovered. I am exci- 
ted — oh, I would give so much to see the Dwarfs, to 
speak to them! How craftily we advance! how cau- 
tious we are for fear of alarming the shy inmates ! My 
Ashango guides hold bunches of beads. I see that the 
beads we had hung to the trees have been taken away. 

All our caution was in vain. The Dwarfs saw us, and 
ran away in the woods. We rushed, but it was too late ; 
they had gone. But as we came into the settlement 1 
thought I saw three creatures lying flat on the ground, 
and crawling through their small doors into their houses. 
When we were in the very midst of the settlement I 
shouted, " Is there any body here f^ IS'o answer. The 

L2 



248 THE COUNTRY OF THE D WARES. 

Ashangos shouted, " Is there any body here ?" No an- 
swer. I said to the Ashangos, " I am certain that I have 
seen some of the Dwarfs go into their huts." Then they 
shouted again, " Is there any body here ?" The same si- 
lence. Turning toward me, my guides said, " Oguizi, 
your eyes have deceived you ; there is no one here ; they 
have all fled. They are afraid of you." " I am not mis- 
taken," I answered. I went with one Ashango toward 
one of the huts where I thought I had seen one of the 
Dwarfs go inside to hide, and as I came to the little door 
I shouted again, " Is there any body here ?" ISo answer. 
The Ashango sheuted, " Is there any body inside ?" No 
answer. "I told you, Oguizi, that they have all run 
away." It did seem queer to me that I should have suf- 
fered an optical delusion. . I was perfectly sure that I had 
seen three Dwarfs get inside of their huts. " Perhaps 
they have broken through the back part, and have es- 
caped," said I ; so I walked round their little houses, but 
every thing was right — nothing had gone outside through 
the walls. 

In order to make sure, I came again to the door, and 
shouted, " Nobody here ?" The same silence. I lay flat 
on the ground, put my head inside of the door, and again 
shouted, " Nobody here ?" It was so dark inside that, 
coming from the light, I could not see, so I extended my 
arm in order to feel if there was any one within. Sweep- 
ing my arm from left to right, at first I touched an empty 
bed, composed of three sticks ; then, feeling carefully, I 
moved my arm gradually toward the right, when — hallo ! 
what do I feel ? A leg ! which I immediately grabbed 
above the ankle, and a piercing shriek startled me. It 
was the leg of a human being, and that human being a 
Dwarf ! I had got hold of a Dwarf ! 



CATCHING A PIGMY. 249 

"Don't be afraid; the Spirit will do you no harm," 
said my Ashango guide. 

"Don't be afraid/' I said, in the Ashango language, 
and I immediately pulled the creature I had seized by 
the leg through the door, in the midst of great excite- 
ment among my Commi men. 

"A Dwarf !" I shouted, as the little creature came out. 
"A woman !" I shouted again — " a pigmy !" The httle 
creature shrieked, looking at me. " Nchende ! nchende ! 
nchende !" said she. " Oh ! oh ! oh ! Yo ! yo ! yo !" and 
her piercing wail rent the air. 

What a sight ! I had never seen the like. "What !" 
said I, " now I do see the Dwarfs of Equatorial Africa — 
the Dwarfs of Homer, Herodotus — the Dwarfs of the 
ancients." 

How queer the little old woman looked ! How fright- 
ened she was ! she trembled all over. She was neither 
white nor black ; she was of a yellow, or mulatto color. 
"What a little head! what a little body! what a little 
hand ! what a little foot !" I exclaimed. " Oh, what 
queer-looking hair!" said I, bewildered. The hair grew 
on the head in little tufts apart from each other, and the 
face was as wrinkled as a baked apple. I can not tell 
you how delighted I was at my discovery. 

So, giving my little prize to one of the Ashangos, and 
ordering my Commi men to catch her if she tried to run 
away, I went to the other little dwelling where I thought 
I had seen another of the Dwarfs hide himself. The 
two little huts stood close together. I shouted, " Nobody 
here ?" No answer. Then I did what I had done be- 
fore, and, getting my head inside of the hut through the 
door, again shouted, "Nobody here?" No answer. I 



250 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

moved my right hand to see if I could feel any body, 
when, lo ! I seized a leg, and immediately heard a shriek. 
I pulled another strange little Dwarf out of the door. 
It was also a woman, not quite so old as the first, but 
having exactly the same appearance. 

The two Dwarf -women looked at each other, and be- 
gan to cry and sing mournful songs, as if they expected 
to be killed. I said to them, " Be not frightened !" 

Then the Ashangos called to the last Dwarf who had 
hid to come out ; that it was no use, I had seen them all. 
They had hardly spoken when I saw a little head peep- 
ing out of the door, and my Ashangos made the creature 
come out. It was a woman also, who began crying, and 
the trio shrieked and cried, and cried and shrieked, wring- 
ing their hands, till they got tired. They thought their 
last day had come. 

" Don't be afraid," said the Ashangos ; " the Oguizi is 
a good oguizi." " Don't be afraid," said my Commi men. 

After a while they stopped crying, and began to look 
at me more quietly. 

For the first time I was able to look carefully at these 
little Dwarfs. They had prominent cheek-bones, and 
were yellow, their faces being exactly of the same color 
as the chimpanzee ; the palms of their hands were almost 
as white as those of white people ; tHey seemed well-pro- 
portioned, but their eyes had an untamable wildness that 
struck me at once ; they had thick lips and flat noses, like 
the negroes ; their foreheads were low and narrow, and 
their cheek-bones prominent ; and their hair, which grew 
in little, short tufts, was black, with a reddish tinge. 

After a while I thought: I heard a rustling in one of 
the little houses, so I w^ent there, and, looking inside, saw 



Q UEER LITTLE SPECIMENS. 251 

it filled with the tiniest children. They were exceedingly 
shy. When they saw me they hid their heads jnst as 
young dogs or kittens would do, and got into a huddle, 
and kept still. These were the little dwarfish children 
who had remained in the village under the care of the 
three women, while the Dwarfs had gone into the forest 
to collect their evening meal — that is to §ay, nuts, fruits, 
and berries — and to see if the traps they had set had 
caught any game. 

I immediately put beads around the necks of the 
women, gave them a leg of wild boar and some plan- 
tains, and told them to tell their people to remain, and 
not to be afraid. I gave some meat to the little chil- 
dren, who, as soon as I showed it to them, seized it just 
in the same manner that Fighting Joe or ugly Tom would 
have done,.Qnly, instead of fighting, they ran away imme- 
diately. 

Yery queer specimens these little children seemed to 
be. They were, if any thing, lighter in color than the 
older people, and they were such little bits of things that 
they reminded me — I could not help it — of the chimpan- 
zees and nshiego - mbouves I had captured at different 
times, though their heads were much larger. 

I waited in vain — the other inhabitants did not come 
back ; they were afraid of me. I told the women that 
the next day I should return and bring them meat (for 
they are said to be very fond of it), and plenty of beads. 





CHAPTER XXY. 

• MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE DWAEFS. — A SURPRISE VISIT. — - 

A GORGEOUS FEAST. RIDICULOUS SHOW OF BABIES. THE 

DWARF LANGUAGE. A DWARF DANCE. THE OLD FABLE 

OF THE CRANES AND THE PIGMIES. 

After several visits to the settlement of the Dwarfs 
we became friends, but it took time. My great friend 
among them was Misounda, an old woman, the first one 
I had seen, and whom I pulled out of her own house ; but 
I had some trouble before I could tame friend Misounda. 

One day I thought I would surprise the Dwarfs, and 
come on them unawares, without having told my friend 
Misounda I was coming. When I made my appearance 
I just caught a glimpse of her f,eet as she was running 
into her house. That was all I saw of Misounda. At all 
the other huts little branches of trees had been stuck up 
in front to show that the inmates were out, and that their 
doors were shut, and that nobody could get in. These 
were, in l^ed, queer doors. I had never seen the like. 
They were of little use except for keeping out the dogs 
and wild beasts. When I went in Misounda's hut and 
got hold of her, she pretended to have been asleep. " So, 
after all, these little Dwarfs," said I, " know how to lie 
and how to deceive just as well as other people." 

Upon one of my visits to the village I saw two other 



A SUEPUISE VISIT, 253 

women, a man, and two children ; all the other Obongos 
had gone. So I made friends with them by giving them 
meat and beads. I saw that the women were not the 
mothers of the children. I looked at the doors of all 
the hnts ; they all had branches put at the entrance to 
signify that the owner w^as out. I do not know why, but 
I begun to suspect that the mother of the children was 
in the settlement, and close by where they stood. I had 
my eyes upon one of the little houses as the one where 
she was hiding; so I put aside the branches at the en- 
trance, and, putting half of my body into the hut, I suc- 
ceeded in discovering in the dark something which I rec- 
ognized after a while as a human being. 

" Don't be afraid," I said. „ " Don't be afraid," repeat- 
ed my Ashango guides. The creature was a woman. 
She came out with a sad countenance, and began to 
weep. She had over her forehead a broad stripe of yel- 
low ochre. She was a widow, and had buried her hus- 
band only a few days before. 

" Where is the burial-ground of the Dwarfs ?" I asked 
of my Ashango guides. " Ask her," said I to them. 

" No, Spirit," said they, " for if you ask them such a 
question, these Dwarfs will fear you more than ever, and 
you will never see them any more. They will flee far 
away into the thickest part of the forest. We Ashango 
people do not know even w^here they bury their dead. 
They have no regular burial-ground. How could they ?" 
added my guide, " for they roam in the forest like the 
gorilla, the nshiego-mbouve, the kooloo-kamba, and the 
nshiego. I believe," said the Ashango, " that all these 
Dwarfs have come from the same father and the same 
mother long, long ago." 



254 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

Another time I came to the village of the Obongos 
with two legs of goats, a leg of wild boar, ten house-rats 
which had been trapped, a large dead snake, and two 
land turtles, which I intended to give as a feast to the 
Obongos. Rebouka, Macondai, and Igalo were with me, 
and several Ashango women accompanied us. We had 
several bunches of plantain, for I had resolved to give 
them a regular banquet, and we had set out to have a 
good time in their settlement. I had brought beads, a 
looking-glass, some spoons, knives, forks, and one of my 
little Geneva musical boxes. Guns were also to be fired, 
for I was going to show the Dwarfs what the Oguizi could 
do. "When they saw us with food they received us with 
great joy. " What a queer language," I thought, " these 
^Dwarfs have !" There was a wild Dwarf hurra, " Ta ! 
ye! yo! Oua! ana! Ke! ki-ke-ki!" when they saw 
the good things that were to be eaten. 

Nearly all the Dwarfs were here; very few of them 
were absent. Misounda, who was my friend, and who 
seemed to be less afraid of me than any body else, stood 
by me, and kept her eyes upon the meat. There were 
fifty-nine Dwarfs all told, including men, women, chil- 
dren, and babies. What little things the babies were ! 
Smoke came out of every hut, fires were lighted all 
round, nuts were roasting, berries and fruits had been 
collected in great abundance, and snake-flesh was plen- 
tiful, for the Dwarfs had been the day before on a feed- 
ing excursion. Eats and mice had also been trapped. 

" Obongos," said I, " we have come to have a good time. 
First I am going to give to every one of you beads." 
Then the Ashangos brought before them a basket con- 
taining the beads, and I asked who was the chief. I 



APPEABANCE OF THE DWAMFS. 255 

conld not find him, and they would not tell me. Among 
them were several old people. 

The Dwarfs were now eager for beads, and surround- 
ed me, and, though I am a man of short stature, I seemed 
a giant in the midst of them ; and as for Rebouka and 
Igalo, they appeared to be colossal. " Ta ! ya ! yo ! yo ! 
ye ! qui ! quo ! oh ! ah ! ri ! ri ! ke ! ki ! ke ! ki !" seemed 
to be the only sounds they could make in their excite- 
ment. Their appearance was singular indeed, the larger 
number of them being of a dirty yellow color. A few 
of them were not more than four feet in height ; others 
were from four feet two inches to four feet seven inches 
in height. But if they were short in size they were stout- 
ly built; like chimpanzees, they had big, broad chests, 
and, though their legs were small, they were muscular 
and strong. Their arms were also strong in proportion 
to their size. There were gray-headed men, and gray- 
headed, wrinkled old women among them, and very hid- 
eous the old Dwarfs were. Their features resembled 
very closely the features of a young chimpanzee. Some 
had gray, others hazel eyes, while the eyes of a few were 
black. 

As I have said before, their hair was not like that of 
the negroes and Ashangos among whom the Dwarfs live, 
but grew in little short tufts apart from each other, and 
the hair, after attaining a certain length, could not grow 
longer. These little tufts looked like so many little balls 
of wool. Many of the men had their chest and legs cov- 
ered with these little tufts of woolly hair. The women's 
hair was no longer than that of the men, and it grew ex- 
actly in the same manner. 

I could not keep my eyes from the tiny babies. They 



256 THE CO UNTM Y OF THE D WARES. 

were ridiculously small, and much lighter in color than 
the older people. Their mothers had a broad string of 
leather hanging from their shoulders to carry them in. 

There was great excitement among them as I distrib- 
uted the beads, and they would shout, " Look at his dji- 
vie (nose) ; look at his mouna (mouth) ; look at his dia- 
rou (head) ; look at his nchouie (hair) ; look at his mishou 
(beard) !" and, in spite of my big mustache, they would 
shout, " Is he a ba'gala oguizi (man spirit), or an oguizi 
mokasho (woman spirit) ?" Some declared that I was a 
mokasho, others that I was a bagala. I did not forget 
my friend Misounda. 

After I had given them beads I took out a large look- 
ing-glass which I had hidden, and put it in front of them. 
Immediately they trembled with fright, and said, " Spir- 
it, don't kill us !" and turned their heads from the look- 
ing-glass. Then the musical box was shown, and when 
I had set it playing the Dwarfs lay down on the ground, 
frightened by the brilliant, sparkling music of the mech- 
anism, and by turns looked at me and at the box. Some 
of them ran away into their little huts. After their fears 
were allayed I showed them a string of six little bells, 
which I shook, whereat their little eyes brightened, and 
their joy was unbounded when I gave them the bells. 
One, of course, was for friend Misounda, who hung it by 
a cord to her waist, and shook her body in order to make 
it ring. 

After this I ordered Igalo to bring me the meat, and 
taking from my sheath my big, bright, sharp hunting- 
knife, I cut it and distributed it among the Dwarfs. 
Then I gave them the plantains, and told them to eat. 
I wish you had seen the twisting of their mouths; it 



DANCE AND CONCERT OF D WARES. 257 

would have made you laugh. Immediately the little 
Dwarfs scattered round their fires, and roasted the food 
I had given tliem, and it was no sooner cooked than it 
was eaten, they seemed to be so fond of flesh. 

When they had finished eating the Obongos seemed 
more sociable than I had ever seen them before. I seat- 
ed myself on a dead limb of a tree, and they came round 
me and asked me to talk to them as the spirits talk. So 
I took my journal, and read to them in English what I 
had written the day before. After speaking to them in 
the language of the Oguizis, I said, " Now talk to me in 
the language of the Dwarfs ;" and, pointing to my fingers, 
I gave them to understand that I wanted to know how 
they counted. So a Dwarf, taking hold of his hand, and 
then one finger after another, counted one, moi; two, 
bei; three, metato ; four, djimabongo ; five, djio; six, sa- 
mouna; seven, nchima ; eight, misamouno ; nine, nchou- 
ma ; ten, mbo-ta ; and then raised his hands, intimating 
that he could not count beyond^ten. 

One of them asked me if I lived in the soungui (moon), 
then another if I lived in a niechi (star), another if I had 
been long in the forest. Did I make the fine things I 
gave them during the night ? 

" Now, Obongos," I said to them, " I want you to sing 
and to dance the Dwarf dance for me." An old Dwarf 
went out, and took out of his hut a ngoma (tam-tam), and 
began to beat it ; then the people struck up a chant, and 
what queer singing it was ! what shrill voices they had ! 
After a while they got excited, and began to dance, all 
the while gesticulating wildly, leaping up, and kicking 
backwards and forwards, and shaking their heads. 

Then I fired two guns, the noise of which seemed to 



258 THE COUNTHY OF THE DWABFS. ' 

stun them and fill them with fear. I gave them to iin-- 
derstand that when I saw an elephant, a leopard, a gO'- 
rilla, or any living thing, by making that noise I conld 
kill them, and to show them I could do it I brought down 
a bird perched on a high tree near their settlement. How 
astonished they seemed to be ! 

" After all," I said to myself, " though low in the scale 
of intelligence, like their more civilized fellow-men, these 
little creatures can dance and sing." 

" Now, Obongos, that you have asked me about the 
Oguizis," I said to them, " tell me about yourselves. Why 
do you not build villages as other people do ?" 

" Oh," said they, " we do not build villages, for we never 
like to remain long in the same place, for if we did we 
should soon starve. When w^e have gathered all the 
fruits, nuts, and berries around the place where we have 
been living for a time, and trapped all the game there is 
in the region, and food is becoming scarce, we move off 
to some other part of the forest. We love to move ; we 
hate to tarry long at the same spot. We love to be free, 
like the antelopes and gazelles." 

" Why don't you plant for food, as other people do ?" 
I asked them. 

"Why should we work," said they, "when there are 
plenty of fruits, berries, and nuts around us? when there 
is game in the woods, and fish in the rivers, and snakes, 
rats, and mice are plentiful ? We love the berries, the 
nuts, and the fruits which grow wild much better than 
the fruits the hig people raise on their plantations. And 
if we had villages," they said, "the strong and tall people 
who live in the country might come and make war upon 
us, kill us, and capture us." 



ARTS' AMONG THE DWARFS. 259 

" They do not desire to kill you/' I said to them. " See 
how friendly they are with you ! When you trap much 
game you exchange it for plantains with them. Why 
don't you wear clothing ?" 

" Why," said they, " the fire is our means of keeping 
warm, and then the hig people give us their grass-cloth 
when they have done wearing it." 

" Why don't you work iron, and make spears and bat- 
tle-axes, so that you might be able to defend yourselves, 
and be not afraid of war ?" 

'^We do not know how to work iron; it takes too 
much time ; it is too hard work. We can make bows, 
and we make arrows with hard wood, and can poison 
them. We know how to make traps to trap game, and 
we trap game in far greater number than we can kill it 
when we go h^mting ; and we love to go hunting." 

" Why doift you make bigger cabins ?" 

"We do not want to make bigger cabins ; it would be 
too much trouble, and we do not know how. These are 
good enough for us ; they keep the rain from us, and we 
build them so rapidly." 

" Don't the leopards sometimes come and eat some of 
you?" 

"Yes, they do !" they exclaimed. " Then we move off 
far away, several days' journey from where the leopards 
have come to eat some of us ; and often we make traps 
to catch them. We hate the leopards!" the Obongos 
shouted with one voice. 

" How do you make your fires? tell me ;" and I could 
not help thinking that, however wild a man was, even 
though he might be apparently little above the chimpan- 
zee, he had always a fire, and knew how to make it. 



260 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS, 

They showed me flint-stones, and a species of oakum 
coming from the palm-tree, and said they knocked these 
stones against each other, and the sparks gave them fire. 

Then, to astonish them, I took a match from my match- 
box and lighted it. As soon as they saw the flame a wild 
shout rang through the settlement. 

" Obongos, tell me," said I, " how you get your wives, 
for your settlements are far apart, and you have no paths 
leading through the forest from one to another. You 
never know how far the next settlement of the Dwarfs 
may be from yours." 

" It is true," said they, " that sometimes we do not 
know where the next encampment of the Obongos may 
be, and we do not wish to know, for sometimes we fight 
among ourselves, and if we lived near together we should 
become too numerous, and find it difiicult to procure 
berries and game. Our people never leave one settle- 
ment for another. Generation after generation w^e have 
lived among ourselves, and married amorig ourselves. It 
is but seldom we permit a stranger from another Obongo 
settlement to come among us." 

" How far," said I, pointing to the east, " do you meet 
Obongos ?" 

" Far, far away," they answered, " toward where the 
sun rises, Obongos are found scattered in the great for- 
est. We love the woods, for there we live, and if we 
were to live any where else we should starve." 

"As you w^ander through the forest," I asked, ^' don't 
you sometimes come to prairies ?" 

" Yes," said they, and here an old Obongo^ addressed 
himself to my Ashango interpreter. " When I was a Doy, 
w^e had our settlement for a long time in the forest not 



THE C MANES AND THE PIGMIES. 261 

far from a big prairie^ and farther off there was a big 
river. Since then/' said the old Obongo, " as we moved 
we have tmmed our backs upon where the sun rises, and 
marched in the direction where the sun sets" (which 
meant that they had been migrating from the east to- 
ward the w^est). 

" Did you not see," said I, continuing my questions, 
" birds with long legs and long beaks in those prairies T 

" Yes," said all the Obongos ; " sometimes we kill them, 
for we love their flesh." 

I could not but remember the description Homer gave 
of the cranes and the Pigmies, and I here give it to you 
in the translation of a man of whom every American 
should be proud as one of the greatest poets of the age. 
Mr.William Cullen Bryant's translation reads as follows : 

\ ''As when the cry 

t)f^cranes is in the air, that, flying south ^ 
From winter and its mighty breadth of rain. 
Wing their way over ocean, and at dawn 
Bring fearful battle to the Pigmy race, 
Bloodshed and death." — Iliad., iii., 3-8. 

Of course our friend Homer, the grand old bard that 
will never die, did not see the Dwarfs, and only related 
what he had heard of them, and, like every thing that is 
transmitted from mouth to mouth, and from country to 
country, the story has become very much exaggerated. 

Beyond a doubt, at certain seasons of every year the 
cranes left the country of which Homer spoke, for cranes 
are migratory, and their migration was toward the Nile ; 
thence they winged their flight toward the Upper Nile, 
and spread all over the interior of Africa ; and, as they 
came to the country of the Dwarfs, the Dw^arfs came out 
to kill them, instead of their coming to kill the Dwarfs. 



262 THE CO UNTRT OF THE I) WAMFS. 

The dwarfs of Homer's time killed them for food, as they 
still kill them in Equatorial Africa in certain seasons of 
the year. 

I am now going to tell you what I wrote about these 
big cranes before I had even heard of the Country of the 
Dwarfs, or that such people as the Obongos ever existed : 

" This account o£ Homer has been thought fabulous ; 
for ' How/ it has been asked, ' could cranes attack a race 
of men V 

" Where were these pigmies to exist ? I will try to 
show that Homer had some reason to say what he wrote. 
In the first book which I published (called ' Explorations 
in Equatorial Africa') I did not mention what Homer had 
written. I had heard of the Dwarfs, but I dismissed the 
account given to me by the Apingi as fabulous. In chap, 
xiv., p. 260, 1 say : 

" • The dry season was now setting in in earnest, and I 
devoted the whole month of July to exploring the coun- 
try along the sea-shore. It is curious that most of the 
birds which were so abundant during the rainy season 
had by this time taken their leave, and other birds in im- 
mense numbers flocked in to feed on the fish, which now 
leave the sea-shore and bars of the river mouth, and as- 
cend the river to spawn.' 

" In the four paragraphs in advance on the same page 
I said, ' Birds flocked in immense numbers on the prai- 
ries, whither they came to hatch their young. 

" ' The ugly marabouts, from whose tails our ladies get 
the splendid feathers for their bonnets, were there in 
thousands. Pelicans waded on the river's banks all day 
in prodigious swarms, gulping down the luckless fish 
which came in their way.' 



ABUNDANCE OF GAME. 263 

"In the next paragraph, page 261,1 continue: 

"^And on the sandy point one morning I found great 
flocks of the Ihis religiosa (the sacred Ibis of the Egyp- 
tians), which had arrived overnight, whence I could not 
tell. 

"'Ducks of various kinds built their nests in every 
creek and on every new islet that appeared with the re- 
ceding waters. I used to hunt those until I got tired of 
duck-meat, fine as it is. Cranes, too, and numerous other 
water-fowl, flocked in every day, of different species. All 
came, by some strange instinct, to feed upon the vast 
shoals of flsh w^hich literally filled the river. 

"'On the sea -shore I sometimes caught a bird, the 
Sula capensis^ which had been driven ashore by the 
treacherous waves to which it had trusted itself, and 
could not, for^feome mysterious reason, get away again. 

" 'And, finally, every sand-bar is covered with gulls, 
whose shrill screams are heard from morning till night 
as they fly about greedily after their finny prey.' 

" I terminated the description by saying, ' It is a splen- 
did time now for sportsmen, and I thought of some of 
my New York friends who would have enjoyed the great 
plenty of game that was now here.' 

" In chap. xiii. of the same book, p. 199, 1 wrote : 

" ' From Igale to Aniambie was two hours' walk, 
through grass-fields, in which we found numerous birds, 
some of them new to me. One in particular, the Myc- 
teria Senegalensis^ had such legs that it fairly outwalked 
]ne. I tried to catch it, but, though it would not take to 
the wing, it kept so far ahead that I could not even get 
a fair shot at it. 

" ' These Mycteria Senegalenses are among the largest 

M 



264 THE COUNTUY OF TEE DWARFS. ^ 

of cranes. They have a long neck, and a very powerful 
beak, from eight to ten inches in length, and I killed- sev- 
eral of them, which I brought back. I had grand shoot- 
ing with them, and many a time I gave up the chase ; 
but when I killed one I took good care to see that the 
bird could not hurt me and was quite dead before I ap- 
proached it.' 

''Hence I conclude that the description of Homer is 
correct as regards the great number of cranes, and that 
he was right, for you see that they came in the dry sea- 
son, and when the rains came they disappeared from the 
country. 

" The dwarfish race of whom I speak are great hunters, 
and is it not probable that during the dry season, when the 
cranes came, there was rejoicing in the Pigmean race ? for 
there would be food and meat for them ; and they would 
fight also with the large crane, the Mycteria Senegalensis^ 
which prqbably they could not kill at once, and hence it 
required on the part of the Dwarfs great dexterity to 
capture them. For myself,! was always careful in ap- 
proaching the Mycteria Senegalensis^ whose height is 
from four to five feet, as I have said, when quite clear. 
The natives, as I approached the first that I killed, shouted 
to me, ' Take care ; he will send his beak into your eye.' " 




^ CHAPTER XXYI. 

A MODERN TEAVBLEe's ACCOUNT OF THE DWAEFS AND 

THEIR HABITS. WHERE AND HOW THEY BURY THEIR 

DEAD. HUNTING FOR THE DWARFS. HOW THEY MAKE 

THEIR HUTS. 

Now that I have told you what Herodotus and Homer 
wrote about the Dwarfs, let us come to a more modern 
account of them. We read the following in Key. Dr. 
Krapf 's " Travels and Missionary Labors in East Africa :" 

"Noteworthy are the reports which in the year 1840 
were communicated to me by a slave from Enarea, who, 
by order of the King of Shoa, was charged with the care 
of my house in Angolala during my residence in Onko- 
bez. His name was Dilbo, and he was a native of Sabba, 
in Enarea. As a youth, he had made caravan journeys 
to Kaffa, and accompanied the slave-hunters from Kaffa 
to Tuffte, in a ten-days' expedition, where they crossed 
the Omo, some sixty feet wide, by means of a wooden 
bridge, reaching from thence to Kullu in seven days, 
which is but a few days' journey from the Dokos, a Pigmy 
race of whom Dilbo told almost fabulous stories" (p. 50). 

Then Dr. Krapf gives an account of Dilbo, which does 
not bear on the subject, and then continues : 

"He told me that to the south of Kaffa and Sura there 
is a very sultry and humid country, with many bamboo 
woods (meaning, no doubt, palm-trees), inhabited by the 



266 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

race called Dokos, who are no bigger than boys ten years 
old ; that is, only four feet high. They have a dark ol- 
ive-colored complexion, and live in a completely savage 
state, like the beasts, having neither houses, temples, nor 
holy trees, like the Gallas, yet possessing something like 
an idea of a higher being, called Yer, to whom, in mo- 
ments of wretchedness and anxiety, they pray, not in an 
erect posture, but reversed, with the head on the ground, 
and the feet supported upright against a tree or stone. 
In prayer they say, ' Yer, if thou really dost exist, why 
dost thou allow us thus to be slain ? We do not ask thee 
for food and clothing, for we live on serpents, ants, and 
mice. Thou hast made us, why dost thou permit us to 
be trodden under foot?' The Dokos have a chief, no 
laws, no weapons. They do not hunt nor till the ground, 
but live solely on fruits, roots, mice, serpents, ants, honey, 
and the like, climbing trees and gathering the fruits like 
monkeys, and both sexes go completely naked. They 
have thick protruding lips, flat noses, and small eyes. 
The hair is not woolly, and is worn by the women over 
the shoulders. The nails on the hands and feet are al- 
lowed to grow like the talons of vultures, and are used in 
digging for ants, and in tearing to pieces the serpents, 
which they devour raw, for they are unacquainted with 
fire. The spine of the snake is the only ornament worn 
around the neck, but they pierce the ears with a sharp- 
pointed piece of wood.'' 

Then Dr. Krapf adds that they are never sold beyond 
Enarea, and continues as follows : 

"Yet I can bear witness that I heard of these little 
people not only in Shoa, but also in Ukambani, two de- 
grees to the south, and in Barava, a degree and a half to 



WHERE THEY BJJRY THEIR BEAD. 267 

the north of the equator. In Barava a slave was shown 
to me who accorded completely with the description of 
Dilbo. He was four feet high, very thick set, dark com- 
plexioned, and lively, and the people of the place assured 
me that he was of the Pigmy race of the interior. It is 
not impossible., too, that circumstances, such as continual 
rains from May to January, and other means, may con- 
tribute to produce a diminutiva people of stunted devel- 
opment in the interior of Africa. A ])riori^ therefore, 
the reports collected from different and mutually inde- 
pendent points of Africa can not be directly contradicted, 
only care must be taken to examine with caution the fab- 
ulous element mixed up with what may be true by native 
reporters. In the Suali dialect ^dogo' means small, and 
in the language of Enarea ^ doko' is indicative of an ig- 
norant iandrstuj)id person." 

Now I think, though Dr. Krapf was a long way from 
where I was, that his Dwarfs must be the same people as 
the Obongos, though they do not bear the same name; 
but you must remember that the Obongos are called by 
three different names by other tribes. It is true the 
Dwarf he saw was very black, but then there may be 
some Dwarfs much darker than others, just as some ne- 
groes are darker than others. 

Then I said to the Ashango interpreter, "Ask the little 
Obongos where they bury their dead." I wanted to know, 
though I did not tell him why. I wanted the skeleton 
of an Obongo to bring home, and I would have been 
willing to give a thousand dollars for one. 

" Don't ask such a question of the Obongos," said he. 

"And why ?" I inquired. 

"Because," he answered, "they would be so fi'ightened 



268 THE CO UNTB Y OF THE D WABFS. 

they would all run away. Even we ourselves, the Ashan- 
gos, who are their friends, know not where they bury their 
dead, and I will tell you why : they are afraid that the 
Ashangos would steal the skulls of the dead people for 
fetiches, and if they could procure but one they would 
always know where the Obongos were in the forest." 

" Tell me," said I, " how they bury their dead." 

"When an Obongo dies," said my Ashango friend, 
"there is great sorrow among the Dwarfs, and the men 
are sent into every part of the forest to find a tall tree 
which is hollow at the top. If they find one, they come 
back to the settlement and say, 'We have found a tree 
with a hollow.' Then the people travel into the forest, 
guided by the man who has found the hollow tree, and 
taking with them the body of the dead Obongo. When 
they have reached the spot, some of them ascend the 
tree, carrying with them creepers to be used as cords for 
drawing up the body, and the corpse is then drawn up 
and deposited in the hollow, which is immediately filled 
with earth, and dry leaves, and the twigs of trees." 

" But," said I, "big hollow trees, such as you have been 
speaking of, are not found every day. If they do not 
find one, what then ?" 

" It is so, Oguizi. Sometimes they can not find a big 
hollow tree ; then," said my Ashango guide, " they wan- 
der into the forest, far from paths and villages, in search 
of a little stream, which they turn from its natural bed, 
and then dig in it a big, deep hole, wherein they bury 
the body of the Obongo, after which they bring back the 
water to its own bed again, and the water forever and 
ever runs over the grave of the Obongo, and no one can 
ever tell where the grave of the Obongo is." 



SLEEPING m A DWARF'S HOUSE. 269 

" Why," said I to myself, " this way of burying an 
Obongo reminds me of the burial of Attila." 

This is all I know of the way the Obongos bury their 
dead, and this was told me by the Ashangos. The Obon- 
gos, who had seen me holding so long a talk with the 
Ashangos, began to appear frightened, and asked what 
we had been talking about. The Ashangos answered 
that we had been talking about hunting wild beasts. 
After a while we departed, apparently good friends wdth 
them, but not before promising the Obongos that I would 
come again and see them. 

The next day I went hunting in order to kill nieat and 
bring it to the Dwarfs, and their delight was great when 
I brought them five monkeys. A little while after I had 
put the monkeys on the ground I said, " Dwarfs, let us 
be good friends. Don't you see that I do not desire to 
kill you or capture you ? I wish only to know you well. 
Every time I come to see you I bring you food and nice 
things." " That is so," said the Dwarfs, headed by my 
friend Misounda. 

The hours passed away, and as evening approached I 
said, " Dwarfs, what do you say to my spending the night 
in your settlement, and going back to-morrow to Niem- 
bouai ?" " Muiri ! muiri !" said the Dwarfs, and immedi- 
ately a little house was given me for the night. I was 
glad, for I wanted to be able to say when I came back 
home that I had slept in a house of the Dwarfs. 

The little Dwarfs went into the woods to collect fire- 
wood for me, and to look after their traps. After a while 
they came back, and they, too, brought food. Misounda 
brought me a basket of wild berries, and the other Obon- 
gos presented me game, consisting of three beautiful fat 



270 ' THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

ratSj a nice little mouse, one squirrel, two fish, and a piece 
of snake. They laid these things before me. To please 
them, I ordered the squirrel to be cooked on a bright char- 
coal fire, and how delighted they were to see me eat it ! 
how they shouted when they saw me take mouthful after 
mouthful ! 

The sun went down behind the trees, and soon after 
it was dark in the village of the Dwarfs. I could see 
that they were still afraid of me. They had an idea that 
probably I wanted to capture some of them. At last the 
time came for me to go to bed. I had some trouble to 
get through the door, and when I was inside I lay down 
on my bed made of sticks, and put my head on my re- 
volvers as a pillow. I had a little fire lighted so that the 
smoke would drive the musquitoes away, and before ly- 
ing down I looked round to see if there were any snakes. 
You must always take that precaution in that part of the 
world. The Dwarfs kept awake all night outside of 
their huts, for they were not yet certain that I had not 
come to capture some of them. 

Their little huts were of a low, oval shape, like gipsy 
tents. The lowest part, that nearest the entrance, was 
about four feet from the ground ; the greatest breadth 
was also four feet. On each side were three or four 
sticks for the man and woman to sleep upon. The huts 
were made of flexible branches of trees, arched over and 
fixed into the ground, the longest branches being in the 
middle, and the others successively shorter, the whole be- 
ing covered with large leaves. 

The next morning the Ashangos and the Dwarfs weut 
into the forest to look after the traps they had made to 
capture game. 



TAKING LEAVE OF THE DWABF^. 273 

As the time of our departure from Niembouai had ar- 
rived, I said to the Dwarfs that I must bid them good-by, 
for I was going away toward where the sun rises. " Now 
you see," said I, " you have always been afraid of me 
Tell me, have I done harm to any one of you ?" " No, 
no," they exclaimed ; " no, no," said my friend Misounda. 
So I shook hands with them, and they said to me in part- 
ing, " You will see more little Dwarfs in the countries 
where you are going. Be kind to them, as you have been 
to us." 

As I walked on through the jungle, my mind kept 
dwelling on the strange Obongos. " If you want one of 
them to take away with you," said my Ashango guide, 
" we will capture one for you, if you will give us beads 
and copper rings." " No, no," said I, " the Spirit does 
not want tO| capture people ; he wants only to see peo- 
ple." - 

Now I must tell you what I think of these Obongos. 
I think that they are the very same people of whom He- 
rodotus and Homer had heard ; that they are closely al- 
lied to the Bushmen of South Africa, for the hair on 
their heads grows in the same way ; only they are dark- 
er in color, and in that respect seem to be a shade be- 
tween the negro and the Bushman. They are also a lit- 
tle shorter in stature than the Bushmen, and I have a 
strong belief that in times past they belonged probably 
to the same nation. 

And now we must take leave of the Dwarfs, for I am 
to talk to you of the great negro tribes in whose country 
the little creatures live. If I should learn any thing 
more about the Dwarfs as I go forward, I will surely re- 
late it to you. 



CHAPTER XXYII. 

TEAVELING EASTWARD. MEASUEING HEIGHTS. INSTRU- 
MENTS USED. REACH MOUAOU-KOMBO. APPREHENSIONS 

OF THE PEOPLE. PALAVER WITH THE CHIEF. AN UN- 
LUCKY SHOT. HOSTILITIES COMMENCED. 

Several days have passed away since I have left the 
Pigmies and the village of Niembouai, and I am travel- 
ing toward the rising sun. The coimtry is getting more 
and more mountainous as we advance eastward, the for- 
ests are very thick, the jungle is very dense, and many 
of the trees are of immense size. An apparently perpet- 
ual mist shrouds the summit of many of the hills, where 
it rains almost every day, .though on the sea-shore it is the 
dry season. Tillage after village of the wild Ashango 
inhabitants of the country have been passed by us ; many 
are deserted. The people are afraid of me, and do not 
wish to see me. 

Some of the mountains we passed had queer names. 
One was called Birougou-Bouanga. I remember well 
Birougou-Bouanga ; it was 2574 feet in height. 

In order to know the elevation of the country as I trav- 
eled along, I had two kinds of instruments with me — an- 
eroids, and an apparatus for ascertaining at what point 
water boils. The boiling apparatus was a queer-looking 
instrument, and was a great object of fright to the ne- 
groes. The illustration gives you an idea of the instru- 



MEASUMING HEIGHTS. 



21b 



ment. Here is a policeman's lantern; in it is a lamp, 
and on the top is a kind of kettle in which water is put 
when to be used. To the kettle is attached by a screw 
a thermometer, the bulb of which is immersed in the wa- 
ter. A short time after the lamp is lit, the water boils 
and forces the mercury along the tabe; then the de- 
grees are read off on the instrument. With this read- 
ing entered on the tables which are made for this instru- 
ment, the height of the place where you are is obtained. 




INGTllLAIENTS FOE OBSERVATI0:>8. 

1. Iron Bottle for Quicksilver. 2. Aneroid. 3. Thermometer. 4. Artificial Hori- 
zon. 5. Sextant. 6. Glass to measure the cubic inches of Eain. 7. Rain-gange 
and Bottle. 8. Policeman's Lantern with Thermometer, a. 9. Brass Tuhe in 
which to keep the Thermometer, a. 

The aneroid looks very much like a large watch, but 
having only one hand. The higher you ascend, the low- 
er the reading, on account of the atmospheric pressure. 
This reading, referred to a table, gives the height, as by 
boiling water. Any one of you, procuring these instru- 
ments when going in the country, can amuse himself 
when he travels in taking the height of the hills and 
mountains he passes over. 

On my return from the country of the Dwarfs I found 



2 76 ^^-^ G<^ VNTU Y OF THE D WARFS, 

improvements in the boiling apparatus, and also in the 
artificial horizon. There is now a very small artificial 
horizon, invented by my friend Captain George, of the 
British Navy, and it is very portable, especially when 
compared with the old one travelers had to use. It will 
be a great boon to explorers. I doubt that a more use- 
ful and safe one to the traveler can be made. Captain 
George, I am very happy to say, is the gentleman who 
taught me how to take astronomical observations, and 
how to calculate them. 

At the foot of Birougou-Bouanga was the village of 
Niembouai - Olomba, which meant Upper Niembouai. 
The head men of Niembouai and of Upper Niembouai 
were two brothers, so the people consented to receive 
me, and we tarried there a few days. The village was 
situated just at the junction of two gorges or valleys, one 
of which ran almost directly nortli and south, and the 
other east and west. From the village, looking up, I 
could see the sun as it rose almost from the natural hor- 
izon. The wind during the day blew all the time from 
the south, and early in the morning the temperature was 
quite cool — 69° Fahrenheit. 

After leaving Niembouai - Olomba, and traveling 
through the great and dense forest, we came to a village 
called Mobana, the inhabitants belonging- to the Ashango 
tribe, for we were still in the Ashango territory. The 
chief of Mobana was called Eakombo. The village was 
situated at the summit of a mountain 2369 feet in height, 
at the foot of which ran a beautiful stream called Bem- 
bo. The Bembo was the first river I had reached which 
ran toward the east, toward where the sun rose. How 
glad I was ! " It no doubt falls into the Congo Eiver," 



AT MOUAOU-KOMBO. . 277 

I said, for I began to hear of a large stream in our line 
of march going toward the rising san. 

The great embarrassment now was that the people 
were so much afraid of me, not as a spirit who brings 
the plague, but as a spirit whose evil eye they dared not 
meet. I succeeded in leaving Mobana, as I had left 
scores of villages before, without trouble, and Eakombo 
had taken me to a village farther east with the name of 
Mouaou-Kombo. The name of the village proper was 
Mouaou, and the chiefs name was Kombo. If the peo- 
ple of the wild tribes I had passed before had been afraid 
of me, the people of Mouaou-Kombo stood in still great- 
er dread of my coming. The people of Mobana, who 
had taken me to that village, had disappeared one by one, 
and Eakombo himself, their chief, had deserted me. So 
I was left_^ll alone with my Commi men among the 
Mouaou-Kombo people. 

A few days after my arrival at Mouaou-Kombo, if yoii 
had sought me or my Commi men in the village, you 
would not have found us there. Where were we ? We 
were encamped by ourselves not far from the village, 
from which we had withdrawn to show the people that 
we were tired of remaining there, and impatient to take 
our departure. We had been busy that day in cutting 
down trees around our camp to serve as an abatis and 
safeguard, so that nobody could approach us without 
making us aware of it by their noise in penetrating the 
dense branches. We passed the night in reasonable se- 
curity, though without much fire, for our dogs, Andfeko, 
Commi -Nagoumba, Eover, Turk, Fierce, and Ndj^go, 
w^ould have in an instant apprised us by their barking of 
any strange visitor attempting to enter the camp. All 



278 ^^^ ^'^ UNTM Y OF THE D WABFS. 

our luggage was by us. The path from Mouaou-Kombo 
to our retreat was very steep. 

I had that day sent Igala, Eebouka, and Moiiitchi, 
armed to the teeth, along the path leading eastward, tell- 
ing them to look sharp, and to ascertain, if they came to 
a village, whether the inhabitants did not want us to pass 
through their country ; in fact, to learn all the news they 
could, and make report to me. After two hours Igala 
came back laughing, and saying that he had entered a 
big village, from which the people had fled in perfect 
terror, thinking I had come with him, but that finally he 
had succeeded in holding a parley with some of the in- 
habitants, and learned that they had trouble with the 
Mouaou-Kombo people. Igala told them not to be 
afraid of me, and that they must not be alarmed if they 
should see me come to their village. So far all was 
right ; we knew exactly what was ahead of us. " Well 
done," I said, " my boys." 

The next morning a deputation of villagers of Moua- 
ou-Kombo came to our camp and begged us to come 
back, saying that if I w^ould return, in two days they 
would conduct me by another route to the southeast in 
order to avoid the hostile villages. So we returned to 
the village, the villagers helping my men in carrying our 
luggage back. Now I regretted that I had no more 
Cpmmi men with me, so that we might have been inde- 
pendent of strangers for the transportation of our lug- 
gage. -- 

As I came back to Mouaou-Kombo, little did I know 
what a dark cloud was hanging over us, for my heart 
was filled with joy at the prospect of soon continuing 
our journey. Little did I dream of the storm that in a 



PA LA VEM WITH KOMBO. 279 

short time was to burst upon us. Little did I think, as I 
ascended the hill in the midst of the peals of laughter of 
my Commi men and of the Ashangos, that there was 
fighting and bloodshed in store ; that I w^as soon to be 
engaged with my men in defending our lives, and in 
beating a disastrous retreat along the way we had come, 
and see the mournful end of that glorious journey upon 
which I had set my heart ! Like the little leaf cast upon 
the stream of Mokenga, I was drifting I knew not whith- 
er. I had no knowledge then of the breakers ahead, and 
now I am going to relate to you the sad story. 

I had entered again the village of Mouaou-Kombo ; 
our luggage had been put back in the huts ; Kombo, the 
chief, headed by his elders, had come to receive me, beat- 
ing his kendo as he advanced. After a while the elders 
departed, a^)the chief and his queen were seated by my 
side in the street. The people were passing to and fro 
to their accustomed avocations, and every thing was go- 
ing on as usual. 

" Is it true," said Kombo to me, " that you Oguizis kill 
people as we Ashangos kill monkeys and the wild beasts 
of the forest ? We Ashangos believe you do it, and that 
is the reason we are afraid of you. We are even afraid 
that your eye is an evil one, and that a look of yours can 
bring death." Then the chief stopped and looked at me. 

" N^shi, neshi, neshi," I repeated three times (no, no, no), 
and I spat on the ground to show him how I hated what 
he had said. " No," said I, " Kombo, the Oguizi loves 
people, loves the Ashangos, and kills no one."* 

As I was speaking, a goat, the peace-offering of the 
king, stood before me, and several bunches of plantain 
lay near by^ which had been brought in a little before by 



280 T^^ ^^ UNTB Y OF THE B WAUFS. 

liis people. The king said, " Eat these, Spirit. In two 
days I will conduct you where you want to go. I am so 
glad to hear that you do not kill people, but surely us 
Ashangos are afraid of you; but in a day's journey you 
will reach the Njavi country." 

Then the queen said, " I told you, my husband, that the 
Oguizi did not kill people as the Ashangos kill monkeys. 
Now don't you believe me ?" said she, looking at the king 
right in the face. Then, turning to me, she said, " Oguizi, 
I am cooking a pot of koa (a root) for you and your men ; 
will you eat them ?" 

" Certainly," said I. 

I had hardly uttered those words when there appeared 
before us four warriors of a hostile village, who said they 
would make war on the Mouaou-Kombo people if they 
dared to take me through their village ; that they did not 
want me to pass that way. 

Kombo, the chief, said to me, " Oguizi, go in your hut ; 
I do not w^ant these people to see you," and he asked my 
men to fire guns to frighten the warriors. Igala fired, 
advancing toward the four warriors, who fled. I could 
not help laughing. Other guns were fired, when I heard, 
back of where the king and queen and myself were seat- 
ed, the report of another gun, and I was startled to see 
the Mouaou villagers, with affrighted looks and shouts of 
alarm, running aw^ay in every direction. The king and 
queen got up, and fled along with the rest. 

" Mamo ! mamo !" was heard every where. 

I got up, and, looking back in the direction where the 
gun had been fired, I saw, not far from my hut, the life- 
less body of a leading Ashango man. 

Igalo had done the deed. He rushed tow^ard me and 



AN UNL UCKT SHOT. 281 

shouted, " I did not do it on purpose ; the gun went off 
before I had raised it." 

Now, indeed, I might be sure that the Ashangos would 
believe that the Oguizi could kill people as they did mon- 
keys. 

What was to be done ? I was hundreds of miles away 
from the sea. 

I called the king back. " Do not be afraid," I said. 

Kombo cried back to me, '^ You say you come here to 
do no harm, and you do not kill people. Is not this the 
dead body of a man ?" and in an instant he was out of 
sight. 

Oh, how sorry I felt ! but there was but little time for 
melancholy reflections. 

I shouted back, "Ashango people, I am very sorry. 
What can Ldb ? I w^ill pay you the price of twenty men 
for that man who has been killed." 

In the mean time the war-drums began to beat furi- 
ously in every part of this large village, and the warriors 
came out by hundreds, armed with spears, bows and 
poisoned arrows, battle-axes, and other murderous imple- 
ments of war. 

My men held beads and goods in their hands, and 
shouted, "Come, we will pay you for that man that has 
been killed." 

Then suddenly one of the elders, bolder than the rest, 
shouted, " Let there be no war ; let us have peace. The 
Oguizi will pay for that man's life." 

There was a lull. Some said, "Let us make war; let 
us kill the people who have come with the Oguizi, for 
they have come to kill us," while another party shouted, 
"Let us have peace." The war-drums for a while ceased 



282 THE CO UNTR Y OF THE D WAMFS, 

to beat, and the horns calling the warriors from the for- 
est had ceased to blow. 

There was a lull — just what I wanted. I knew it was 
utterly impossible to make those people believe that that 
man had been killed by accident. I might just as well 
have tried to make them believe that a spear would go 
through a man and kill him without being hurled by 
another man. 

That lull was precious time to me, though it was but 
short. I encouraged my seven Commi men, who had 
come close to me for advice. " Don't be afraid, boys," I 
said. "We are men ; we can fight. Not one of you will 
be delivered to the Ashangos for this palaver. We will 
fight our way back ; get ready. Though they may be in- 
clined for peace, let us prepare for the worst, and woe to 
our enemies if they want to fight." Then, turning to- 
ward Igalo, I said to him reproachfully, though kindly, 
" See what your carelessness has brought upon us." 

In a very short time we had got out an additional sup- 
ply of ammunition, two hundred bullets extra for each 
man, and six one-pound cans of powder. We could not 
be taken unawares, for our guns had never left our hands, 
and by the side of each man hung always a bag contain- 
ing one hundred bullets and two or three pounds of pow- 
der ; so you see we had ammunition enough to carry on 
a desperate fight, and we were bound to sell our lives 
dearly, but not before having exhausted every means of 
conciliation. 

Then, pointing to seven otaitais, I said, " Get ready to 
put them on at an instant's notice." They contained my 
precious things — photographs, scientific instruments, and 
valuable notes. 



HOSTILITIES THREATENED. 283 

We were ready for our retreat in case war should be 
decided upon by the Ashangos. 

The appearances were hopeful, and I began to think 
that the palaver would be settled satisfactorily, when sud- 
denly a woman, whom afterward I recognized to be the 
queen, came wailing and tearing her hair. Stripping off 
her garment of grass-cloth, she rolled herself on the 
ground before me, crying, " Oguizi, what have I done to 
you ? Why have you killed my sister ? What had she 
done to you ? She gave you food — that is the harm she 
has done you. Go and see her body behind the hut," 
and she wailed aloud. Then from afar the friendly 
elder, who did not desire at first to make war, shouted, 
" Why have you killed my wife, oh wicked Oguizi ?" 

The fatal bullet had gone through the man, and then 
through a hut, killing the sister of the queen, who was 
busy behind her dwelling. 

As the sad news spread, a general shout for war arose 
from the increasing multitude, and every man who had 
not his spear or bow rushed for it, and those who had 
them brandished them in sign of defiance. War was 
declared — there was no help for it. Oh dear, what was 
to be done? I had not come into that far country to 
kill these savages, but then my men, who had left their 
homes, their wives, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, chil- 
dren, miist not be killed — they trusted in me. What 
shall we do ? Is Paul Du Chaillu to run away from the 
enemy ? Shall these savages call him a coward ? Such 
thoughts made the blood rush to my head. I shall never 
play the coward, but then there are many ways besides 
fighting to show one's courage. My mind was made up ; 
so I girded my loins for the fight, sad at heart. First I 



284 THE COUNTHY OF THE DWARFS. 

« 

thought I would set fire to the house where my baggage 
was, but there was so much powder there — several hun- 
dred pounds — that in exploding it more Ashangos would 
be killed. We had shed the first blood ; we must be 
careful to shed no more without being obliged to do so, 
and I offered a silent prayer to God to guide me in what 
was to be done. 

My seven Commi men stood by me, ready to start with 
their otaitais on their backs. "Be not afraid, boys," said 
I ; "we are men." 

We had to go through the whole length of the village 
before we could reach the path by which we had come 
to Mouaou-Kombo. 

I shouted, "Ashangos, all the goods I have I give to 
you for the people that have been killed. Now we go 
away. We did not come here to make war ; we did not 
come here to kill people. We don't wish to kill you, so 
do not compel us to do so." 

My Commi boys were cool and steady, and, keeping a 
firm line, we marched through the street of the village. 
A rain of spears and of poisoned arrows came from be- 
hind the huts, and showered all around us. I am wound- 
ed — a sharp-pointed arrow pierces me. Then Igala, my 
right-hand man, is wounded. "Don't fire, boys; let us 
shed no more blood in this village if we can help it," I 
said. "Press onward; do not be afraid. There is but 
one God, the ruler of the universe ; all will be for the 
best." 

We advance steadily, the crowd ahead of us in the 
street brandishing their spears and sending arrows at us ; 
but they keep far away, while, with guns pointed toward 
them, we continue to advance, Rebouka and Mouitchi 



THE FIGHT AT MOUAOU-KOMBO. 285 

looking around toward the huts, for our hidden enemies 
were the ones we dreaded the most. Another shower of 
spears and arrows fell in the midst of us. I look around 
— no one is wounded ; when, lo ! Macondai is struck by 
an arrow. The infuriated savages, shouting their terrific 
war-cries, become bolder, and come nearer. Must more 
blood be shed ? And now Eebouka is wounded. Five 
spears fall by me, and a perfect shower of them fly all 
around. 

Igala says, " Chally, do you think we are going to let 
these savages wound you ? A man in our country would 
be put to death if he dared to raise his hand against you. 
Don't you see our blood ? May we not fire and kill some 
of them?" 

"Be patient, my boys. Remember we shed the first 
blood. Wait a little while; perhaps they will desist. 
They dare not come too near ; when they do we will kill 
.them," 

Oh dear, one of our dogs is killed — poor And^ko ! 
three spears go into him and lay him prostrate ; he gives 
a shriek of pain, and he is dead. Our other dogs are by 
ns. Commi-Nagoumba is in a great rage ; he barks fu- 
riously at the Ashangos; a spear has just wounded him 
slightly on the back. Rover, Fierce, Turk, and Xdj^go 
are ready to help us ; we have trouble to keep them in 
check. They are going to be useful in the forest — they 
will discover the men in ambush. The Ashangos know 
this, and they try to kill them. Just as we reach the end 
of the village, Rover and Fierce are wounded, each re- 
ceiving an arrow in his body. 



CHAPTEK XXYIII. 

EETEEAT FROM MOUAOU-KOMBO. THE ATTACK. PAUL IS 

WOUNDED. A PANIC. THE FIGHT RENEWED. THE EN- 

EMY RE-ENFORCED. LYING IN AMBUSH. THE ENEMY 

REPULSED. A POISONED ARROW. — MOUITCHI SAFE. 

DEATH OF THE DOGS* 

We enter the great forest ; we are going to leave the 
village of Mouaou-Kombo forever. We are on the path 
which we took on our way eastward. We are going back. 
The forest near the village is filled with savages waiting 
for us behind the trees. 

We can only go single file. I give command. Igala 
is to take the lead ; then follow Eebouka, Eapelina, Ngo- 
ma, Macondai, and Igalo, the cause of our trouble. I 
guard the rear ; the post of danger, of honor, must be- 
long to me, their chieftain, for I have sworn to them, and 
their people when I left the sea-shore, to protect them. 

All at once I remember Mouitchi. I do not see him. 
He is not with us. " Mouitchi, where are you ?" I cry. 
" He is dead," replied the Ashangos. " He will never 
come to you. We have killed him. You will never see 
him again." 

Before plunging into the forest we turn back and 
shout, " Ashangos, we do not want war. We did not 
come to your country to kill people. Beware ! We leave 
your village ; do not follow us, for if you do there will 



i 



A PANIC. 287 

be war." They answer by a fierce war-cry, and hundreds 
of spears from afar are thrown at us as in defiance. 

" Now," said I, " boys, no more mercj^ ! blood for blood ! 
Fight valiantly, but kill no women, no old men, no chil- 
dren ; for remember, you are with a white man, and we 
never make war on these. I would not dare to raise my 
head in my country if I had killed women and children." 

Three dogs are left. Poor Rover and Fierce have just 
been killed. More than fifty spears had been thrown at 
them. They fell bravely in our defense. The forest 
was filled with armed Ashangos. When we got into the 
path a large spear was thrown at me from behind a big 
tree ; Macondai saw the man. " Do not kill him," said 
I ; " he is an old man, and he is disarmed." He had no 
other spear with him. At this moment a poisoned arrow 
struck into^ne — a long, slender, bearded arrow, w^hich 
first pierced the leather belt that held my revolvers. I 
had no time to take the arrow out ; the fighting was too 
terrific. Six savages all at once rushed upon Macondai 
from behind a tree. Macondai fired at them, and Pcame 
to the rescue. Bang, bang, bang from my revolvers, and 
the miscreants troubled us no more. Igalo now received 
a wound from a poisoned arrow, and we were almost sur- 
rounded. 

My men quickened their speed. " Don't go so fast," 
I shouted from the rear; but they went on faster and 
faster. The shouts of the savages became more violent, 
and they were shooting at us from behind every tree. 
My Commi ran as fast as they could. Igalo and I re- 
mained behind. " Glome (men)," shouted I, " what are 
you doing ?" A panic seized them ; they ran faster and 
faster along the path, and I shouted in vaii^ for them to 



288 THE CO UNTR Y OF THE D WABFS. 

stop. Wild shouts, and the tramp of scores of infuriated 
men thirsting for blood, were heard close behind us, and 
the Ashangos got bolder and bolder as they saw that we 
quickened oar steps. They began to realize that my 
men were demoralized. 

Just as I was raising my gun, an arrow cut the flesh 
of my middle finger to the bone, severing the small ar- 
tery, and causing the blood to flow copiously on the path. 
A little after I heard the Ashangos shout, " Ah ! ah ! we 
see your blood on the track; you lose blood. Not one 
of you shall see the sun set to-day. We are coming ; all 
the villages in front of you will fight you. You shall lie 
dead like the man you killed. We will cut you to pieces." 

I rushed ahead, shouting to my Commi men to stop. 
Suddenly, as I advanced to overtake them, I see their 
loads strewn on the ground along the path. Tlfey had 
thrown down their baggage. It was now my turn to be 
infuriated. I rushed ahead, revolver in hand, and sho,ut- 
ed, " I will shoot the first man of you that dares to move 
a step." They stopped for sheer want of breath. JMy 
breath was also almost taken away. I said, "^ Boys, what 
have you done ? You have run away from the Ashan- 
gos. You have left me behind all alone to fight for you. 
You are to be called by those savages cowards ; they will 
say that you do not know how to fight,"4^and I looked Iga- 
la and the other men boldly in the face, and shook my 
head sorrowfully. "What have you done?" I added. 
"Where are my photographs? where my note-books? 
where my route maps? where are those mementos of 
friends at home? where are my scientific instruments? 
Gone, thrown away ; the toils of years irrecoverably lost. 
My boys, what have you done ?" 



A MUNNINO FIOHT. ' 291 

The panic had lasted about ten minutes. Their flight 
had been so hurried that we had left all the savages some- 
what in the rear. " Boys/' said I, " think a little while, 
and don't run away any more. Don't you see that the 
Ashangos have the disadvantage ? They are obliged to 
stop every time they want to adjust an arrow and talie 
aim, and as for their spears they can not manage them 
in the thick jungle, for they have not space enough. Be- 
sides, we are often out of sight before they can delive^ 
their shot, and the only people we have to fear are those 
who are waiting in ambush for us. Their bravest men 
will think twice before they come to us at close quarters, 
and if they do, have we not guns and revolvers ? have we 
not guns whose bullets will go through four or five men, 
one after another ? So be not afraid." 

By the-time I had finislied this little speech, and had 
just taken breath, the infuriated savages were again upon 
us. Their hatred seemed to be now against Igala, whom 
they called malanga^ cursing him. They dodged about, 
taking short cuts through the jungle, and surrounding us. 
" You have tasted blood," they cried ; " you are all dead 
men. It is no use for you to try to fight." 

My men by this time had recovered from their panic, 
and sent back the Commi war-crj^ , and shouted, ^' Togo 
gou-nou (come here) ! We are ready ; come here ; we 
will make you taste death. Many of you will never go 
back by the path you came ;" and we stood still. " Well 
done, boys !" I shouted. " Show the people what you can 
do," and many Ashangos fell on the ground never to rise 
again. 

In a little while we came co a village from which the 
people had fled. Thero I discovered the plan of the 



292 THE XJOUNTRY OF. THE DWARFS, 

Ashangos. They wanted to flank ns, while some of them 
were going forward to rouse the other villages ahead to 
fight us. If they could succeed in flanking us, they 
would soon finish us ; if not, they could make all the 
population ahead hostile to us on our way back. Tliere 
lay our great danger. If they succeeded in rousing the 
population against us, it would be impossible for us to 
escape. We could not keep fighting forever. I was al- 
ready beginning to feel very weak. We had had no 
food since the day before, for the trouble came before 
our breakfast. The poisonous arrows began to show the 
effect of the poison in the blood, and I felt a raging thirst. 
My men were very much frightened at this. The Com- 
mi knew nothing of the poisoned missiles, but had heard 
of tlie dreadful effects of poisonous w^ounds from the 
slaves coming from the interior. 

Poor Igala complained of great pain and great thirst. 
" I shall die, Chally," said he ; "I shall never see my 
daus:hter asrain !" 

" If God wills it, you shall not die, Igala," I said. 

Let us get ready. The Ashangos are coming silently 
this time; we hear their footsteps; they are in sight. 
We hid at the extremity of the village, and I shouldered 
my long-range rifle. The Ashango leader advanced, and 
as he was adjusting his bow I fired. His right arm 
dropped down broken and powerless by his side, and the 
next man behind fell with a crash in the bush in the 
midst of f allei:j leaves and branches. Rebouka fired, and 
down came another man, and one by one my men kept 
up the fire. The Ashangos had now received a moment- 
ary check. The bravest among them had fallen in the 
dust, and my men shouted to the Ashangos that fell, " You 



ASHANGO STRATEGY, 293 

will never return by the path you came." The panic was 
over; my Commi men were ashamed to have acted as 
they had done. 

We jogged on now leisurely till we came to a rivulet. 
I could not stand ; I lay flat, and drank, and drank as 
much as I could. How fervently I wished Mouitchi was 
with us! Poor Mouitchi! where was he killed? His 
body must have been hacked to pieces. Another dog 
was missing ; two only were left. They had been killed 
for being our friends, and finding out our enemies behind 
the trees. 

The Ashangos began to learn how to fight us. We 
had not gone far when suddenly they came again in 
great numbers without uttering a war-cry. The path 
was most diflicult when we became aware of their ap- 
pearance^steep hill lay beyond steep hill ; stream after 
stream had to be crossed, and we increased our speed, 
for we were to be under a disadvantage ; but it was for- 
tunate that we knew the ground by having been over it 
before. Suddenly a paralyzing thud, accompanied by a 
sharp pain, told me that I had been struck from behind 
my back or in flank by an unknown enemy. This time 
it was in my side that I was wounded. We were just 
going up a steep hill, and I turned to see my assailant. 
Igalo, the poor good fellow, the unfortunate cause of our 
woe, was by my side, and turned round also to see who 
had launched the missile. Lo, what do we descry lying 
flat on the ground among the dry leaves, still as death ? 
An Ashango, crouched as still as a snake in its coil, his 
bright eyes flashing vindictively at me. Igalo, in the 
twinkling of an eye, discharged his gun at him, and the 
too-skillful bowman lay low, never to rise again. I could 



294 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS, 

not help it — I felt sorry ; I deplored that fight with my 
whole heart from the beginning. This time I was wound- 
ed badly. The arrow was bearded^ small, and slender, 
and had gone deeply into my stomach, and if the leather 
belt which held my revolvers, and through which it 
passed, had not weakened its force, I should have been 
mortally wounded; but a kind Providence watched over 
.me, and, though another wound disabled that poor, tired, 
w^orn-out body of mine, I did not grumble. 1 had reached 
that state in which I did not care. The trouble was that 
I had to go with that arrow in my body, for there was no 
time to disengage it. 

My men came around me, for they saw that the pain 
had turned me deadly pale, and, though not a cry of an- 
guish was uttered by me (for I, their chief, must teach 
them how to suffer), they saw that my strength was grad- 
ually giving away. 

How painful that little bit of bearded arrow was as 
part of it lay inside, and the other part in the leather ! 

We were now near Mobana, and the Mouaou warriors, 
and those that had been added to them, were still pursu- 
ing us. Happily, we knew every hill and every stream. 
We crossed the Bembo, a stream with which you were 
made acquainted on our way east, and the ascent of the 
steep hill on the other side was terrible. Tlie Mouaou 
warrioi^ were shouting all the time, "Men of Mobana, do 
not let the Oguizi pass ! They have killed our people !" 
, Approaching Mobana, we could hear the war-drums 
beating* in the village, but fortunately the path led us by 
the end of the street, tjnd as we passed we saw the Mo- 
banians in battle array, aUd heard them sending fierce 
war-cries at us. 



GETTINa INTO AMBUSH. 295 

The Mobanians made common cause with the Moiiaou 
people, and they were like a body of fresh troops coming 
to the rescue — they were not tired. The situation was 
becoming grave, especially if the people ahead of us were 
also in sympathy with the Mouaou people. 

We recognized the leading Mobana warrior, armed 
with his bow and several quivers of arrows. Happily 
they were at some distance from us, and I ordered my 
men not to fire at them, thinking that perhaps when they 
saw that we did not desire to make war they might re- 
main quiet in their village, and not pursue us. 

We had no time to lose, for I knew that Mobana was 
situated on the top of a very steep and high hill, and of 
course I did not want to be taken in the rear by those 
savages, and subjected to a plunging fire of spears and 
arrows from) their high elevation, from which they could 
look down on us. 

"Boys," said I, "let us go down this hill quickly, so 
that we may reach the bottom and ascend the other be- 
fore they come ; then we shall have a great advantage 
over our enemies. We descended the hill, the multitude 
of savages following us, shouting, " Ah ! ah! you run 
away ! You do not know this forest ; you shall never 
leave it ; we will kill you all ; we will cut your bodies 
to pieces !" 

My blood was getting up. At last we reached the bot- 
tom of the hill, and began to ascend the other by the 
path. " Boys," said I, " don't you remember that there 
is a big fallen tree near the path up this hill where the 
jungle is very thick? We are getting weak; let us lay 
in ambush there, and be as si]<3nt as if we were all dead^ 
and wait for the Ashan^ro/o.*' 

N2 



296 THE CO UNTH Y OF THE D WABFS. 

After a while we came to the place I had spoken of, 
and in the thick bushes just by the side of the path, not 
far from the big fallen tree, I ordered Igala, Eapelina, 
and Ngoma to lie down together. On the other side, in 
a position which I thought would be a good one, I put 
Igalo, Macondai, and Rebouka. I myself kept the cen- 
tre, facing the path, and could see tolerably well what 
was going on around. 

We lay almost flat on the ground, nearly hidden by the 
underbrush, with our bags of bullets hanging in front, our 
flasks of powder handy, and our cartridges ready. We 
kept as silent as tlie grave, moving not a muscle, and 
hardly daring to breathe, and waited for the slightest 
rustling of the leaves as a warning that the Ashangos 
were coming. 

Hark ! hark ! we hear a very slight distant noise, which 
seems as if an antelope or gazelle was passing through 
the forest. We look at each other as if to say, '^They 
are coming.^' As by instinct we look at our guns and 
our ammunition, and see that every thing is ready for 
the fray. We were indeed desperate, for now we knew 
it was a death-strugglq — that we must either vanquish 
*he Ashangos or be killed by them. 

The rustling in the midst of the leaves becomes more 
distinct, and we glance rapidly in front of us, on the right 
of us, on the left of us, and behind us. 

We see the -|harp-shooters forming the Ashango van- 
guard advancing carefully, with their bows and arrows in 
readiness. They came in almost a sitting posture. Now 
and then the leaders would stop to wait for the men be- 
hind, their fierce, savage fa^es looking all around at the 
same time, and their ears erect to catch the slightest 



THE ENEMY REPULSED. 297 

sound. Suddenly they stop, perhaps to listen and know 
where we are. They look at each other as if to say, " We 
don't hear any thing," or perhaps they mistrust the bush 
ahead. Then I get, a glimpse of the great Mobana war- 
rior, and also of one of the leading Mouaou warriors. 
All at once they gave a cluck, the meaning of which I 
could not tell. Perhaps it meant danger. 

I had been looking intently for a minute at these sav- 
ages, when I cast a glance in the direction where Igala, 
Eapelina, and Ngoraa were. Igala was aiming with an 
unerring and steady hand at the great Mobana warrior, 
and Eapelina was aiming at the Mouaou warrior ; wheth- 
er Ngoma was aimhig at any one I could not see. It took 
only one glance for me to see what was going on in that 
direction. Then, turning in the other direction, I saw 
that Macopdai, Rebouka, and Igalo were getting ready ; 
they had also caught sight of some sly and silent enemy. 
I shouldered my rifle also. Not twenty seconds had 
passed after I had looked at Igala when I heard in his 
direction, bang ! bang ! The great Mobana warrior was 
shot through the abdomen, and uttered a cry of anguish, 
while Eapelina had sent a bullet through the lower jaw 
of the Mouaou warrior, smashing it completely. Ngoma 
fired, but I could not see the man he fired at. All at 
once, bang ! bang ! bang ! I hear from Igalo, Macondai, 
and Eebouka's side. Bang! bang! bang! three guns 
from the other side. Bang ! from my omu gun. 

" Well done, boys !" I cried, " Forward, and charge, 
and let us show the Ashangos we are men." We rush 
through the jungle in the direction from which the war- 
xlors had come. They are surprised; their leading chiefs 
are killed. Bang! bang! bang! from revolvers and guns; 



298 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

we are fighting like lions at bay. We are victorious ; our 
enemies fly in abject terror. 

We shouted to the fleeing Ashangos cries of defiance : 
" Come here ! Come again ; not one of you shall go back 
to your villages. We are coming ; we will kill you all 
before night. You made war; we did not make it. 
Come and look at your dead in the forest. Come and 
fetch them if you dare ! To-night we are coming to 
your villages, and will destroy them !" 

The voices of the Ashangos became fainter and fainter, 
and there were no more answers to our cries of defiance. 

Some of us had been wounded again. As we came to 
a little stream, my exhaustion was such that every thing 
became dim before me; the trees of the forest seemed 
to be moving, and finally I fell almost unconscious to the 
ground. After a while I drank copiously of the refresh- 
ing water of the stream, for the poisoned arrows had giv- 
en me an unquenchable thirst. The men drank also; 
none of us seemed ever to be satisfied. A few minutes 
after, and we drank again. Now we breathed more free- 
ly, and rested a little while, keeping a sharp lookout, 
however, at the same time. I examined the wounds of 
Igala and the others, and said, " Igala, don't be afraid ; 
you are not going to die from the effects of the poisoned 
arrow. I am going to put in your wound something that 
will burn you, but do you good." It was ammonia. I 
applied it, and he gave a piercing shriek. 

The slender, small, sharp-pointed, bearded arrow had 
remained in my body the whole of the day ; two or three 
times I tried in vain to pull it out, but it seemed to stick 
fast in the fiesh ; so I took off the belt of my revolver, 
and said to Igala, "Pull that arrow out for me." He 



A POISONED AJRMOW, 299 

tried gently, but it would not come. I said, "Pull it 
with all your strength." 

Oh how it pained ! It was like a little fish-hook — a 
little bit of a thing, but it so tore the flesh that I felt like 
giving a cry of anguish. I became deadly pale, but did 
not utter a word ; I wanted to set an example of fortitude 
to my men. Then I put ammonia in all my wounds and 
those of my men, for I always carried a little bottle of it 
to use in case of snake-bites. The blood had flowed 
freely from my finger, and I was sorry to see that my 
clothes were quite saturated, but the effusion of blood 
had carried off the poison. 

I found that the effect of the poison was to bring on 
mortification of the flesh, and was not so dangerous as I 
had been led to believe, though I was \QYy sick a few 
days afteLthe fight. 

After resting a while, and after equalizing our muni- 
tions of war, we shouldered our empty otaitais. Just as 
we w^ere ready to start we heard again a rustling of 
leaves. Are the Ashangos coming back? We are si- 
lent, and look in the direction of the noise. We see a 
man — our guns are directed toward him. I make a sign 
not to fire, I do not know why — God directs me. Now 
and then he hides himself — stops — ^^watches — he is ad- 
vancing, not in the path, but a little way from it. The 
man comes nearer ; we see a gun in his hand — it is Mou- 
itchi ! I am the first to recognize him. "Mouitchi !" I 
shouted. "I am Mouitchi," the answer was. He rushes 
toward us ; he is safe ; he is not even wounded, and with 
tremulous voice I said, "Boys, God is with us ; I thank 
thee. Father." I could say no more, but this came from 
the inmost depths of my heart. 



300 



THE COVNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 



Mouitchi's story was this : He had mistaken the path 
in the panic, and finally had gone through the jungle and 
followed us by the halloing of the fierce Ashangos, but 
kept at a good distance from them. He heard them cry- 
ing out that the great warriors of Mobana and of Mouaou 
were killed. They had fled in the utmost terror. 

Poor Commi-I^agoumba was the only dog left ; all the 
others had been killed. H I could have collected their 
bodies I would have dug a grave for them at the foot of 
a big tree, and written on it the words, 

HERE ARE BURIED 

THE DOGS 

ANDEKO, ROVER, FIERCE, TURK, and ND JEGO. 

They were faithful unto death. 




C^S 




CHAPTER XXIX. 

TRAYELING WESTWAED. A NIGHT IN THE FOREST. PAUl's 

SPEECH TO HIS MEN. THEIR REPLY. THE RETREAT RE- 
SUMED. TAKING FOOD AND REST. MEETING WITH 

FRIENDS. 

This meeting with Mouitchi revived for a while my 
■failing strength. I saw in his safety the decree of a kind 
Providence. My warriors v/ere by me ; though wound- 
ed, none of us had been killed. 

We contitiued our journey westward. The forest had 
resumed its accustomed stillness, undisturbed by the sav- 
age war-cries of the infuriated Ashangos. I felt so weak 
that it was with great difficulty I could walk. I had been 
obliged to get rid of my splendid formidable double-bar- 
reled breach-loading rifle by breaking the butt-end and 
throwing the barrel into the woods. I had tried as hard 
as I could to carry two guns, but at last I had to give up. 
Now I had only a smooth-bore to carry. 

A little after we had resumed our march, as we walked 
silently in the forest, we met suddenly two Mobana wom- 
en. Tgala at once was going to shoot them ; I forbid him 
doing it. Poor Igala said he did not like this way of 
making war ; he said it was not the white man's coun- 
try, and we ought not to fight in the white man's fashion. 
He was for shooting every Ashango he saw ; and, point- 
ing to our wounds, he said, " Don't you think they would 



302 THE COUNTJRY OF THE DWARFS. 

have killed all o£ us if they had been able ?" I answered, 
" Never mind, Igala ; they will tell their people that, aft- 
er all, we did not want to kill every body." 

Poor women ! they really thought they were going to 
be murdered, but they had no idea of what had taken 
place. 

We went on, though I was becoming weaker and weak- 
er. A high fever had set in, and jny thirst continued to 
be intense ; at the sight of a stream I thought I could 
drink the whole of the water. My men v/ere pretty 
nearly in the same condition as myself. 

Thus we traveled on till near sunset, when at last I 
said, " Boys, I can not go any farther ; I can not walk, I 
am so weak, so weary, so ill. There is that big village 
of Niembouai-Olomba near us ; w^e are all too tired to go 
through it and fight our way if the people want to fight 
us. It will soon be dark ; let us leave the path, and go 
into the forest and rest. At midnight, when the people 
are asleep, we wdll go through the village, and continue 
our way toward the sea." 

" You are right," said the men. " You are our chief ; 
we will do as you say." 

We left the path and plunged into the woods, and after 
a while we halted in one of the thickest parts of the for- 
est, where no one could see us but that good ^d merciful 
God whose eye was upon us in that day of our great tri- 
als, and w^ho had given us strength to contend with our 
enemies. We w^ere hidden from the sight of man, and 
hundreds of miles away from the Commi country — I was 
thousands of miles away from my own. It was, indeed, a 
day of tribulation. The men were afraid to light a fire, 
for fear that it might betray our hiding-place. We did 



A NIGHT IN THE FOREST. 303 

not even dare to speak aloud ; we were almost startled at 
the rustling of the leaves, for we knew not but that it 
might be the enemy. Our pride had left us with our 
strength. We were helpless, wounded, weak, hungry ; 
the future before us was dark and gloomy. What a pic- 
ture of despondency we presented ! 

After a while we lay on the ground to sleep, muzzling 
our only dog, that he should not betray our hiding-place. 
Darkness came on, and the silence of the night was only 
broken by the mournful cry of a solitary owl that came 
to perch near us. In a little time my exhausted men 
thought not of leopards, or poisonous snakes, or hostile 
savages^ in the deep slumber that enwrapped them. Igala 
alone now and then moaned from pain. The night air 
was misty and cold. As I lay awake on the damp 
s:round, an) intense feelino; of sadness came over me. 
There was I, far from home. I thought of our northern 
climes, of spring, of summer, of autumn, of winter, of 
flakes of snow, of a happy home, of girls and boys, of 
friends, of schoolmates. I knew that if any of them 
could have been made aware of my forlorn condition 
they would have felt the tenderest sympathy with me in 
my misfortunes, and I thought if I could see them once 
more before dying I should die happy. 

Hours paired by, and at last I thought it must be time 
to start. I took a match from my match-box, and light- 
ed a wax candle (I always kept one in my bag), and 
looked at my watch. It was just midnight. We lay in 
a cluster, and I awoke my men in a moment. " Boys," 
said I, " it is time for us to start, for the hours of the 
night are passing away ; the people of the village must ^ 
have retired. Two of you must go as scouts, and see if 



304 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

the people of Niembouai-Olomba are asleep."' Moiiitclii 
and Igala at once started. "Be as cunning," said I, " as 
leopards, and noiseless as snakes." 

After a while they came back, telling us that every 
body was asleep in the village of Memboaai-Olomba, 
and that we had better start immediately, '' for," said 
they, " the first sleep is the deepest." 

Then, calling my boys around me, I gave them what 1 
thought might be my last words of admonition. With 
dead silence they waited for what I was going to say : 

"Little did we know, boys, at sunrise this morning, 
what would happen to us to-daj. Men can not look into 
the future. I was leading you carefully across that big 
country of the black man toward the land of the white 
man. I did not defeat the journey — one of you has done 
it. Poor Igalo is sorry for it, but no one is more sorry 
than I am, for I had set my heart on taking you by the 
okili mpolo. I was leading you on w^ell to the white 
man's country. Now all hope of this is oven We are 
poor ; every thing we had has been left behind, and we 
have nothing else to do but go back to the sea, following 
the road by which we came. 

"In a little while we shall start. I have called you 
around me to give you advice, for I am ill and weary, 
and if there is much fighting to be done I^m afraid I 
shall not have the strength to take part in it. If per- 
chance you see me fall on the ground, do not try to raise 
me up ; let me alone ; don't be frightened. Stand close 
together ; do not run, each man his own way. You have 
guns ; you can reach the Commi country if you are wise 
as serpents, and then you will behold the beautiful blue 
sea and your Commi country once more. 



FA UUS SPEECH TO HIS ME^, 305 

" I have kept my word with your people. I have stood 
by you to the last. My boys, I have fought for you as 
resolutely as I could, but the time may be at hand when 
I shall be able to fight no more. I may be killed to- 
night, as I have said to you, or I may not be strong 
enough to raise my gun. Whatever happens, remain to- 
gether ; listen to Igala, your chief. 

" We have lost nearly every thing, but these books (my 
journal), in which I have written down all we have done, 
are yet safe. If I fall, take them with you to the sea, 
and when a vessel comes, give them to the captain, and 
tell him ^ Chally, Chally, our friend, the great friend of 
the Commi, is dead. He died far away, calmly, without 
fear, and he told us to give these to the white man.'"^ 
Take also the watch I carj-y on my person, and that little 
box, which^contains four other w^atches, anei-oids, and 
compass, and give them to the captain. All the other 
things and the guns I give you to remember me by. You 
will give a gun to Quengueza, and a gun to Eanpano." 

My men crept close around me as I spoke. I had 
hardly spoken the last words when they stretched their 
arms toward me, and these lion-hearted negroes wept 
aloud, and, w^ith voices full of love and kindness, said, 
" Chally, Chally, you are not to die. We w^ill take you 
alive to our people. No, no ; w^e will all go back to the 
sea-shore together. You shall see the deep blue ocean, 
and a vessel will come and carry you back home. Do 

* On the first page of each journal I had written, " Copy of Du Chail- 
hi's African Journal. Should death overtake me, and should these my 
journals find their way to a civilized country, it is my wish that Messrs. 
John Murray, of London, and Harper & Brothers, of New York, shall pub- 
lish an account of my journey, if they feel inclined to do so. 

''P.B.Du Chaillu." 



306 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS, 

you think thiat, even if you were killed, we would leave 
your body here ? No ; we would carry it with us, and 
tarry somewhere and bury you where nobody could find 
you, for we do not want the people to cut off your head 
for the alumba. Chally, Chally, you are not to die." 

" Boys," I answered, in a laughing tone, in order to 
cheer them up, " I did not say I expected to die to-night, 
only that I might die. Tou know that Chally is not 
afraid of death, and many and many times he has told 
you that men could kill the body, but could not kill the 
spirit. Don't you know that Chally knows how to fight ? 
We are men. If I have talked to you as I have, it is be- 
cause I want to prepare you for the worst. Be. of good 
cheer, and now let us get ready." 

We got up and girded our loins for the fight, and 
swore, if necessary, to die like brave men. We exam- 
ined our guns by the light of the candle, and refilled our 
fiasks with powder, and replaced our cartridges and bul- 
lets. Ncommi-lfagoumba, our last dog, was looking at 
us. He seemed to understand the danger, and to say, 
" Don't kill me ; I will not bark." I looked at him and 
said, " Ncommi-Nagoumba, don't bark. You have been 
our friend. You discovered many of our enemies behind 
the trees ready to spear us, and jow have warned us of 
our danger. Our friends, the other dogs, have been 
killed ; you alone now stand by us, but we are not un- 
grateful, and we shall not kill you, Ncommi-Nagoumba. 
Don't bark, don't bark," I said to the dog, looking ear- 
nestly at him. 

Then, shouldering our bundles and guns, we struggled 
through the entangled thicket, tearing ourselves with 
thorns, into the path, and at last came to the village 



THE RETREAT RESUMED, 307 

street. We here paused, and called to each other in a 
low tone of voice, to make sure that no one was left be- 
hind, for it was so intensely dark that we could not see a 
yard before us. It was necessary to guard against any 
possible ambush. We then stepped forward like desper- 
ate men, resolved to jBght for our lives to the last, and, 
entering the village, took the middle of the street, our 
feet hardly touching the ground. Igala carried Ncommi- 
Nagoumba in his arms, for we were afraid that, if suf- 
fered to run loose, he might possibly bark. I shall never 
forget that night. We threaded the long street cautious- 
ly, with our guns cocked, and ready at the slightest warn- 
ing to defend ourselves. Onward we went, our hearts beat- 
ing loudly in our terrible suspense, for we feared a sur- 
prise at any moment. Now and then we could hear the 
people talking in their huts, and at such times we would 
carefully cross to the other side of the street. At one 
house we heard the people playing the wombi (native 
harp) indoors, and again we crossed li^itly to the other 
side, and passed on without having alarmed the inmates. 
Then we came to an ouandja where three men were ly- 
ing by the side of a fire stretched out on their mats, smok- 
ing their pipes, and talking aloud. I was afraid Ncommi- 
Nagoumba would bark at them, but we passed without 
being detected. It was no wonder that we were afraid 
of every body, for w^e were so weak and helpless. Thus 
we continued our march through that long street, and it 
seemed as if we should never reach the end of it. 

At last we came to the farthest confine of the village, 
rejoicing that we had so successfully avoided creating 
an alarm, when all at once a bonfire blazed up before us! 
As we stood motionless, waiting for the next move, a kind 



308 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. 

voice spoke out from the darkness, " It is the Oguizi peo- 
pie. Go on ; you will find the path smooth* There is 
no more war for you." It was the voice of the old king 
of Kiembouai-Olomba. But, being not sure that some 
treachery was not intended, we passed on without saying 
a word in reply to the kind speech of the chief. As it 
provedj however, instead of a death-struggle we had 
found friends. 

On we went in the darkness of the night, losing the 
path at times, and finding it again; in swamps and wa- 
ter-courses, over stony hills, and through thorny brakes. 
Finally, at three o'clock, we came to a field of cassava. 
Ijlere we halted, made a fire, gathered some of the roots, 
and, having roasted them, ate of them plentifully. This 
food renewed our strength. We had been more than 
thirty-three hours without a particle of nourishment. 

Then, after I had taken my meal, I thought it would 
be better to burn some of my clothes which were saturated 
with blood, so that the natives might not suspect that I 
had been wounded, for they all thought I was a spirit, 
and consequently invulnerable to the implements of -war. 
So we lighted a larger fire, and the blood-stained clothes 
were burned. After this I laid down to rest a little, but 
not before I had offered a silent thanksgiving to that gra- 
cious Providence who had so marvelously preserved my 
little band of followers and myself. 

We rested for the remainder of the night otl the hard 
ground, and at daylight continued our marcli, but mis- 
took the path, and finally came to a plantation belong- 
ing to an old man, the next in authority to the king of 
Niembouai-Olomba. By that time it was midday. He 
had heard of our fight a short time before. We were 



MEETING WITH FRIENDS. 



311 



received kindly by the old man, and, after we had par- 
taken of the food his people had cooked for us, my men 
gave him an account of our deadly encounter with the 
Ashangos. 

Then the old man said, "What an Oguizi you have 
had with you ! It is no wonder that none of you were 
killed, for I have heard by the messenger that brought 
the news that sometimes he would hide and change him- 
self into an elephant, and charge the Ashangos, and throw 
hre from his trunk, and would then become a man again 
At other times we hear that the Oguizi turned himself 
mto a leopard, and as the sharp-shooters came after you 
he pounced upon them from the branches of the trees 
and that when tired of being a leopard he would trans- 
form himself into a gorilla, and roar till the trees of the 
forest shook land toppled down upon your enemies The 
Mouaou-Kombo and Mobana people sent us word that 
we must fight you, but their quarrels are not ours. We 
are your friends." 

But there was no time to be lost on the way, and after 
a little talk we bade good-by to our kind host, and once 
more directed our steps toward the setting sun. 

O 




'S 



CHAPTEE XXX. 

CONCLUSION. — EETUEN TO THE COAST. — DESOLATION OF THE 
COUNTRY. FATE OF OLD FRIENDS. REACH THE SETTLE- 
MENT. DEPARTURE FOR ENGLAND. AU REVOIR. 

I NEED not recount to you our journey back, only that 
there was no more fighting, and that we returned by ex- 
actly the same road we had taken going eastward, reached 
the same villages, and were received every where with 
great kindness by the different tribes and their chiefs, 
who seemed all so glad to see us. Kombila, Nchiengain, 
Mayolo, begged me to come back again. But, when we 
reached the Ashira country, I did not go to see Olenda's 
people, nor did we stop at any village belonging to his 
clan, but went and tarried at Angouka's village, w^here 
we were hospitably welcomed, his people saying, "Why 
did not Quengueza bring you to us instead of taking you 
to Olenda ?" Then we glided down the now placid wa- 
ters of the Ovenga and the Rembo. 

From the Ashira country to the sea-shore a picture of 
desolation every where met our eyes. The poor Baka- 
lais seemed to have suffered heavily from the plague; 
many of their villages were silent,' and as we entered 
them nothing but grim skeletons was presented to our 
view. Obindji, Malaouen, and my hunters were all dead ; 
three men only were left of the Obindji village. 

But when I reached Goumbi the havoc made by the 



FATE OF OLD FRIENDS. gjg 

plague seemed the most terrible of all. Every one of 
the nephews of the king who had gone to the Ashira 
country with us was dead ; all my friends were dead. I 
felt the sincerest compassion for poor Quengueza: Goum- 
bi had been abandoned, and all his warriors, his slaves 
his wives, his family, his children, had been taken from' 
him. 

This plague had been a fearful visitation, and hun- 
dreds of thousands of people must have been carried off 
by it. 

Finally I reached my settlement on the Eiver Commi, 
and on my way there I missed many faoes ; but I was 
rejoiced that friend Eanpano's life had been spared. 
How glad the good old chief was to see me ! He gave 
me back the shirt I had given him on my departure. 
"1 knew yaii would not die," said the old chief. 

We had all returned safely but one— Eetonda. Many 
of those who had said of us when we started upon our 
journey,^' We shall see them no more; they are going 
into the jaws of the leopards ; they are courting death," 
were no more. The plague, which had spared us, had 
swept them away. 

I had gone safely through pestilence, fire, famine, and 
war, and when I looked at the sea once more my heart 
rose in gratitude to that God who had so marvelously 
watched over me, the humble traveler in Equatorial Af- 
rica. 

I found at the mouth of the river an English trading- 
vessel ready to start for London. The name of the ves- 
sel was the Maranee, Captain Pitts, and six days after my 
arrival on the coast, at the close of the year 1866,1 sailed 
for England. 



314 THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS. ' 

And thus I left the shores of Equatorial Africa, fol- 
lowed to the beach with the blessings and good wishes 
of its inhabitants. 

Since that time years have gone by, but I think often 
of the fierce encounters I have had with the wild beasts 
in that far-off country; of our camp-fires; of the Dwarfs; 
of dear, good Quengueza ; of my hunters, Aboko, Niam- 
kala, and Fasiko ; of Malaouen, Querlaouen, Gambo ; of 
friend Obindji, the Bakalai chief of Mayolo ; of Ndiayai, 
the king of the Cannibals; of Eemandji; of my brave 
boys, Igala, Eebouka, Mouitchi, Ngoma, Rapelina, Igalo, 
and dear Macondai, and of other friends, and I hope that 
I may meet them again in the Spirit Land. 

And now, my dear young friends, let us bid forever 
adieu to the regions of Equatorial Africa, whither I have 
taken you in imagination, and concerning which I have 
given you a faithful record of what I did, saw, and heard 
there. 

I think we have had some pleasant hours together, and, 
at the same time, I hope that your knowledge of that un- 
known part of the world has been enlarged by the read- 
ing of the volumes I have specially written for your 
benefit. 

Let us always be friends, and when I travel again in 
distant lands I shall not fail to tell you what I have seen 
in my journey ings. 

Norway, Sweden, and Lapland are the countries where 
I am going to take you next. Meanwhile I say good-by. 










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